Humble Me
by Shadoe Dysteria
Summary: Adopted from Athey. Bella moves to Forks earlier – she arrives in Dec for xmas holidays rather then mid-Jan. She has a run-in with a nomad, is bitten but not killed. Edward finds her and takes her home. ExB EPOV AU, All Vampire, Eventual lemon.
1. Disclaimer and Explanations!

Hey guys!

So, an amazing writer, Athey, who is, unfortunately, abandoning all of her stories, has agreed to let me continue writing the amazing "Humble Me".

Now, I will still be focusing on TD, but, I will post her first chapters here. The later copies will come all in stride.

As I am, first and foremost, dedicated to Twilight Diaries, the updates for that story will most likely always come first.

However...

I will also be dedicated to this. So, you will get updates, however, just when the ones for TD are done.

So, as TD is updated every Sunday, expect HM to be updated every Monday, or something like that.

I am working on ideas for the story.

Now. The beginning chapters are not going to be in my writing. Because she is being so gracious as to let me even continue her story, I am going to keep the original writing. So, be prepared to see a change in writing after the tenth chapter.

Also, the authors notes are a part of the original writing, and, it was the least that I could do to mention that the original idea was not mine. **Well, for the most part, they are. If it's in bold, I've added that part. Other than the obvious, such as taking out somethings in the original AN that didn't really pertain to me or replacing her story names with mine, the AN's are original. **

So, now that you've read this... On with the story!

(Disclaimer for the story: I don't own Twilight)


	2. Chapter 1

**Title: **Humble Me

**Perspective: **EPOV

**Continuity:** Twilight Alternate Universe

**Pairing: **ExB – Cannon couples

**Rating: **Will _eventually_ earn an **M** rating... but it'll take a while to get there, but it's T prior to that.

**Description:** Bella moves to Forks earlier – she arrives in Dec for xmas holidays rather then mid-Jan. She has a run-in with a nomad but isn't killed. Edward finds her and takes her home.

**AU Alterations:** The Cullens already have a pre-existing relationship with the small new pack of wolves from the Quileute Reservation.

**Author Notes:** Okay, don't shoot me. I swear I'm still working on the other stories. I've even got another chapter of Twilight Diaries almost done.

Basically she wanted to write a post-vampire change story.

I know what you're thinking. She? Who is She? Well, a lovely lady named Athey, who is unfortunately abandoning all of her stories, let me take this over. So, the following words, up until those in bold, are hers:

So I noticed that most stories with Edward and Bella getting to initially know each other as vampires either have Edward having lost it and be the one to change her, or have Bella have been a vampire for a long pre-existing period of time. And while those both work and I've read some good stories along those lines, I wanted to take the idea in a slightly different direction. So this is what you get.

And yes, the Nomads in the beginning are Victoria and James, but that's not all that important...

**So, obviously, this is her first chapter. Unedited. Enjoy.**

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Edward

It was December and winter break was about to start in Forks Washington. Three weeks of freedom from the daily grind of public high school and I was actually looking forward to it. For some reason, school had been even harder for me to endure recently, and it was only getting worse with each passing year. I never learned anything new in high school. The classes were always the same. The subject matter just repeated over and over.

I occasionally found an interesting class or two when I attended university, and could learn new material from time-to-time when I attended doctorate level classes – but that's not what I was doing now. I was attending high school. So even the brief break permitted by the winter holiday was enough for great relief.

But what my _family_ was looking forward to, wasn't just the break, but what they had planned to do _during _that break – namely a two-week trip to Rio De Janeiro. Something that we very rarely get the opportunity to do. Not because we couldn't afford it, because we easily could. But because Rio tended to be a rather _sunny_ vacation spot, and my family and I were not all that comfortable in sunny places. Not that we wouldn't like to be.

My name is Edward Cullen, and I'm a vampire. Not exactly the type you usually read about in books, or see in movies or tv shows. We don't exactly match the typical human mythology surrounding our race, but it's probably better that way. For one thing, we don't combust into dust or flames from the sun, so we _can_ actually go to places like Rio in the day without fear of death. We _do_ however, have to avoid direct sunlight for other reasons.

This was why my family and I lived in Forks Washington. A nearly-eternal overcast clouded the sky over Forks, preventing direct sunlight from becoming a problem the majority of the year.

The endless drizzle and misting could get weary at times, but it was worth it to have an almost-normal life.

Out of my family members, three of us possessed special 'gifts'. My so called 'gift' was the ability to hear the thoughts of any and all people within a two-mile radius. But it was my sister Alice's gift of precognition that lead to our scheduled trip to Rio.

Alice's visions of the future were always sketchy and unpredictable, but one thing she always got right was the weather.

She had seen a seasonally-unusual stretch of two-solid weeks in Rio with almost constant cloud-cover. Not a lot of rain, but consistent overcast. The family was ecstatic.

I could care less.

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy Rio. It truly was a beautiful place. The problem was what I knew would be happening during this family vacation.

My family consisted of three blissfully happy couples, and me. Our 'parents', Carlisle and Esme, and my siblings, Emmett and Rosalie, and Alice and Jasper. All married. All happy. All very _active _in bed..

I knew that the inevitable outcome was for this trip to consist of 48% shopping, and 48% intimate couple-time, and the remaining time split between random other activities. Neither of the primary actives interested me in the least, and half of which would involve me running off as far into Rio as possible to escape seeing or hearing things I had no desire to see or hear.

I'd tried to come up with some good excuses to not join them for this trip, but in the end it looked like I had little choice in the matter. Alice especially whined and pouted constantly at any suggestion of me not going, and honestly, Esme wasn't much better.

It _was_ a beautiful place to visit, and it had been quite a long while since I'd been there. I'd basically resigned myself to endure the experience with grace when we some unexpected events began happening around Forks.

About two weeks before we were scheduled to leave two backpackers disappeared in the woods not far from town. It wasn't that unusual for hikers to occasionally get lost, so we hadn't paid it much attention. A week later the remains of a man who had been ice-fishing on one of the local lakes was found, and it was labeled an animal attack.

My father Carlisle, played the role of doctor at the local hospital. Certain details that had leaked out about the attack caught our attention, and he slipped into the morgue long enough to get a look at the body. There was really no doubt what had done it. One of _our_ kind had been responsible for this man's death.

Two days later another man who'd been hiking in the woods turned up dead in the same manor. There was absolutely no doubt that we had a nomad in our territory.

Carlisle and I were discussing the matter that evening when Alice popped her head through the door to his study with an exacerbated expression on her face. She huffed and I could sense the irritation in her mind.

"What's up Alice?" I asked, not getting the details quick enough from her mind.

"I think that Sam is gonna show up soon."

"Sam?" Carlisle asked, surprised.

"Yeah, around 6pm everything just goes blank for an hour, so my guess is it's Sam." She shrugged and rolled her eyes. She _hated_ the effect the local wolves had on her ability to see the future. They blacked them out entirely.

Sam Uley was the Alpha in a small pack of 'wolves' that lived on the local Quileute tribe Reservation. Carlisle and I had formed a treaty with the tribe decades ago, the first time we lived in the region.

Certain members of the tribe had developed the ability to shape-shift into giant wolves, and it was the pack's responsibility to keep the tribe safe from danger. Long ago they had come across vampires and had fought to protect their people from them. When we showed up they knew what we were right away, however we were able to convince their Chief that we wouldn't pose them any threat because of our 'alternative diet'.

When we'd moved back into the area a few years ago, we had initially believed all of the wolves gone. The old pack had died out long ago, leaving only humans with stories of old legends in their place. However not long after we returned Sam shifted for the first time. Not too long after him, two other boys, Jared and then Paul did the same.

We, of course, had no idea at the time. We later determined that they were 'activated' by the instinctual threat our close proximity posed to them and the tribe. It was difficult going at first, but with some work Carlisle and I had managed to form a working relationship with the small pack.

On two occasions prior to this, nomad vampires had shown up in the area stirring up trouble. It was actually the first one that lead us to discover the reemergence of the pack. We had worked together on the last one to track down a nomad and scare him off.

If Sam was coming to visit, it was obvious that he'd come to the same conclusion as we had about the recent disappearances.

Well, I had my excuse.

The rest of the family went ahead and left for Rio, as planned, and I stayed behind to help Sam guard the town and track down the vampires that had been killing in the area.

Carlisle hadn't liked the idea of me being the only one of us to remain, but I'd insisted that he go. I knew Esme had been eagerly looking forward to this trip for months, and I highly doubted it would take anything more then me and three wolves to deal with the problem. Sam, Jared and Paul were actually very good at what they did, although Paul was often a little erratic and temperamental.

Out of my family members I was the most helpful to the pack anyways. They'd been tracking the scents of these nomads for nearly two weeks, but whoever these nomads were, they were good at covering their tracks. My ability to hear the thoughts of others over a fairly good distant would be more helpful to them then anything else.

The wolves had determined that there were two vampires and after running a single patrol with them, I had to agree. There were clearly two distinct scents, and nothing more.

It had been a little over a week since the others had left for Rio. I'd been enjoying my alone time in the house, going out four times a day with Sam or Jared to run a patrol. They always kept at least one of them on the reservation, running the border. Fundamentally, their biggest priority was to protect their tribe and their land. None of the attacks had actually happened on the Quileute land, but these boys were still human... well, at least, partially, and they still cared for the well-being of the humans in this area. Quileute or not.

I was sitting at home at my piano playing one of my own compositions from years back when my phone began buzzing in my pocket.

I pulled it out and saw it was Sam. I flipped it open.

"Yes Sam?"

"Edward, I just caught a fresh trail. _Real_ fresh. And it's near town." He said quickly.

I stood up and started heading for the door before even responding.

"Where should I meet you?"

–

We'd only been following the scent for a few minutes when I could hear her. She was close and I sped up, Sam barely keeping up.

Sam was right about it being near town. Several of the houses of Forks touched the edge of the woods just a few hundred yards from where we caught up with her. We chased her for only a few minutes before I pounced on her, Sam coming up quickly from behind.

She had wild flaming red hair and bright scarlet eyes that were fierce with anger at the sight of me. She growled menacingly and snarled as I landed on her, crushing her into the dirt and moss of the forest floor.

She kicked me off and tried to run again, but Sam, in his giant wolf form flanked her and she was left with no where to run. She attacked me but I grabbed her arm, twisting her around and tossing her over myself in one quick fluid motion, sending her body flying, but her now-detached arm still grasped in my hands.

She screeched and I knew the sound would carry for miles.

She came at me again, but Sam pounced on her, digging his teeth deep into her back and side and shaking her back and forth like a rag down.

Metallic shredding and twisting sounds echoed off the trees and he shook her. He threw her torn body to the ground, took her head in his mouth and ripped it clean off, spitting it to the ground and then returning to bit off her remaining arm.

It was a difficult scene to watch and had me transfixed enough that I almost missed the mental screams of her companion coming up behind us. I dodged him just in time, coming around and grabbing him from behind.

He was growling and snarling with a fierce madness. His mind was a whirlwind of anger and horror at the loss of his mate.

He broke free and tried to attack me again, his movements were erratic but predictable. His mind was too frenzied for him to form a logical attack plan and I easily overtook him, tossing him around, ripping off limbs, and finally hopping on his back and twisting his head clean off.

It took a moment for the calm to set in and for our nerves to die down, once the pair of them were both dead.

Sam was panting hard and I could hear his heart racing. He was still excited and the adrenaline running through him hadn't subsided yet.

I had no such hormone to entice physical excitement, nor did I have a heart to race, so I simply stood there dazed for a moment, collecting myself. It had been quite a long while since the last time I killed anything that wasn't an animal. It was always stunning and unnerving how _easy_ it was.

I began gathering the pieces into a pile, intent on burning them, when the wind shifted. It blew our way from the same direction that the male had come running only minutes earlier.

My head flew up and I stared in the direction of the wind. Sam's head popped up a second later, smelling the same thing I had.

"I smell a human." I said quietly.

_Human __**blood**__._ Sam's thoughts added bitterly. He couldn't speak aloud in his wolf form, but I could still 'hear' every thought in his head.

I glanced at the pile of limbs and looked at Sam.

_We'll come back and burn them in a minute. We should check on the human first._

I nodded in agreement and we took off.

I heard no mental voice to accompany the male earlier, and still heard none now. I assumed that we would be coming upon the lifeless body of their latest victim, however within seconds of departing the gruesome scene of our earlier fight I heard a small weak voice.

Feminine and young. She was whimpering and crying. I sped up, fearing the worst.

We came upon her writhing bloody body and my dead heart sank. She had a gapping bloody wound in her neck, but her heart was still beating.

The male must have been in the middle of feeding when the red-head screamed, causing him to stop before killing the girl.

_She's alive._ Sam thought to me and I nodded, falling to my knees beside her weak writhing body.

My hand reached out and I lightly brushed her deep mahogany hair out from her face. Her skin was pale and her eyes looked sunken and sickly. Blood splattered across one side of her face from the wound in her neck and I found myself trying to brush it off her cheek without even thinking.

_Are you okay to be here? With all the blood?_ Sam thought at me.

I nodded, but still refrained from breathing too much. I could smell the venom in her blood – there was a lot of it.

She looked so fragile and weak. Her face contorted between pain, confusion, and despair. She twitched and jerked, reacting to the horrible pain that I knew was only just beginning and I ached for her.

_Is there anything we can do for her? _Sam asked.

"No... He took too much blood and she's been here too long. The venom's already spread throughout her entire bloodstream, I can smell it." I said, my voice heavy. _Poor, poor girl..._

_She'll become one of you, won't she?_ He asked, though he already knew.

I simply nodded.

At this point I could hear Paul's thoughts in Sam's mind. They were both in wolf form when the attack had started and Paul was now coming to meet us; fully aware of the events that had taken place, thanks to the packs shared mental connection.

I heard him arriving and could sense him as he entered the small clearing that Sam and I now stood in, as we surrounded the girl.

_Should we just kill her?_ Paul thought, after a moment of eying the frail girl on the ground.

My head shot up and I stared at him in shock.

"What? Why?" I asked, confused and furious for him even suggesting such a thing. I knew in that moment that I'd do anything to protect her, even from Sam and Paul, if it came to it. She was beautiful and innocent. She'd done nothing to deserve this, and certainly nothing to deserve death.

_You think she's better off as one of you?_ He asked me, in all seriousness.

I blanched. I couldn't actually answer that. She didn't deserve to die, but she didn't deserve the half-life I had either. Which would _she_ want? I had no way of knowing. No way of asking her.

_Cullen, can you look after her? Keep her from hurting people?_ Sam asked, not answering Paul's proposed idea yet.

I paused, looking back down at her. "Of course. I'll take her back to my home. There's no way I'd leave her alone."

_We couldn't do that anyway. If you and your family can't make sure she won't kill anyone, we have to destroy her before she becomes a danger to the humans in the area. I remember Jasper's tales of the newborn strength and bloodlust. _Sam's words were still stern and serious. Once the poor girl had been bitten, she'd left the realm of protectee and entered the realm of possible threat.

I nodded. "I'll look after her. We can teach her our ways."

_That's a big commitment for you to make on your own. Shouldn't you speak with Carlisle about this first?_ Sam asked.

"I'll take responsibility for her. No matter what the family decides. But I know that Carlisle would agree with me."

_If you're sure. But if you can't handle her and she gets loose... if she kills anyone, we can't permit her to continue living here. You know what we'll have to do._ His thoughts were dark, but realistic. He wanted me to know exactly what I was getting into by committing to look after her.

"I know." I said glumly as I brushed my hand lightly against her cheek again. She was sickly and battered from the attack, but I could tell she was a very pretty girl. She looked so innocent.

Paul was nearly as large as Sam as a wolf, with dark gray fur. He took a few steps closer getting a better look at the girl beside me.

_Who do you suppose she is? I haven't seen her around town before, but she doesn't look like a backpacker or tourist either. _He thought to us. _We're pretty close to some residential blocks of Forks. She could live there, or be visiting for the holidays._

I hesitated briefly before lightly padding down her pockets to see if she had any identification on her. She hadn't started screaming yet, which I was partially grateful for, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

I shifted her as gently as possible towards her side to check her back pockets. She whimpered and cried out very lightly. I hesitated for a moment before continuing. She had a wallet in her back pocket, which I quickly slipped out and returned her to her earlier position. I opened it and pulled out a few pieces of identification.

Her drivers license was issued from Arizona and it listed her name as Isabella Marie Swan.

"Isabella Swan." I said, looking at the small card in my hand.

_Oh shit!_ Paul's mental voice called out in recognition.

Sam and I both turned our heads to eye him.

_That's chief Swan's daughter._ He said, clarifying.

"Chief Swan? The police chief? I didn't know he had a daughter." I said.

Sam was nodding, his mind was acknowledging something now. _That's right. Billy told me about this. She was coming to live with Charlie this week. Her mom got married this year so she was moving back in with her father._

_Poor girl._ Paul added, _talk about a bad time to move back in with daddy. She couldn't have been here very long. I heard she was coming to start school for the second semester. Probably just got here._

I turned my attention back to her wallet. It didn't have much in it. No credit cards, and only a little cash. She had a small collection of wallet-sized photos in section of plastic sleeves. The most recent-looking, and least worn one had her and another girl about the same age sitting on a large bolder in a very sunny park, cacti in the background. I could see the indentations in the photo, indicating it had writing on the back. I slipped it out and when I checked it, I found a hand-written note.

_Bella,_

_Hope you can have fun in Washington! Don't forget to write. We'll all miss you. Love Michelle._

Bella. I made a mental note of the abbreviated nickname. I slipped the photo back in it's place and closed the wallet, slipping it into my pocket, not willing to disturb her by putting it back in her jeans.

_When is you're family scheduled to get back from this trip they're on?_ Sam asked me, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Four days." I said, still keeping my eyes on the girl... on _Bella._

_And the change takes how long?_

"Three."

_Are you going to need help when she wakes up?_

I hesitated. I really had no idea. It had varied a lot with Esme and my siblings. Emmett was the hardest to deal with since he was so strong anyway. This girl seemed so weak and fragile it was hard to imagine her as a savage raving newborn.

"I think I'll be okay, but it might be a good idea for you to be in the area when she wakes, in case she gets away from me." I finally conceded. I didn't want to scare her by having a couple of giant wolves around, but had to acknowledge it was reckless to go without any backup. "I'll give you a call when I think it's getting close to her waking up." I finished.

He nodded his big wolf head and acknowledged mentally.

_Do you need help getting her back to your house?_ Sam asked after a moment.

I shook my head. "No, that's fine. We do need to decide what to do about her death though. With her father being the chief of police, we know he won't give up on this easy."

_The river is near here. And there's already been several 'animal' attacks recently. Chances are Charlie will call Billy and get us involved in searching for her. We can help suggest the idea that she was attacked by a large animal and dragged off to the water._

_I'll help fake the scene after you leave with her._ Paul added.

I sighed heavily and nodded. "We'll be keeping her away from humans anyway, simply because of the risk she'll pose to them during her first year, but we'll have to pay extra care to make sure Chief Swan never comes to pay us a visit."

_Does he come by often? _Sam asked, cocking one wolfy eyebrow. I chuckled.

"Good point. Actually, he's never been anywhere near the house, but we'll still take care to watch out for him. Keep her away from him. If she remembers him she'll probably want to go visit him. I'm going to have to explain why that's impossible. If it comes to it, I'll take her up to the Denali National Park in Alaska. We have a house up there and there's no civilization for miles. Very little risk of running into humans. Probably the safest place for a newborn."

_Okay Edward. Just keep me updated on any new developments and let me know where and when to show up when you think she's waking up. If you and Carlisle decide it's safer to leave the area with her, let me know._

I nodded again and let out another gust of air from my non-functional lungs. I adjusted my position and slipped one arm under her upper back and one under her knees, pulling myself up into a standing position as carefully as possible. She whimpered and her body jerked lightly. Her hands were fisted and I could tell her nails were digging into her skin.

I was surprised that the smell of her blood wasn't getting to me more then it was. She smelled incredibly appetizing but the smell of the venom coursing through her veins was already overpowering. She was already dying.

_Good luck Edward._ Sam said, backing up slightly and giving me room to depart. _We'll take care of burning the two leaches from earlier._

I nodded and took off towards the house.

–

I got her home and gently placed her on the couch in the family room, unsure where else to put her for now. I removed the bloody raincoat she was wearing and discarded it to the side to deal with later.

Her whimpers were more frequent and more frantic, but she was still holding back from screaming. It was almost impressive, but also a little concerning. I knew it had to be taking considerable strength and self-control to hold in the screams. The pain was beyond words and it was only starting. It would get worse... _much_ worse, long before it got better.

I slipped my cellphone out of my pocket about to call Carlisle when it started ringing in my hand. I eyed the caller ID; it was Alice. I sighed and flipped it open.

"Hello Alice." I said calmly awaiting the explosion.

"Edward! Oh my god! What happened? My visions of you disappeared and I assumed you just went out with Sam for another patrol and when the visions finally came back –"

"Alice, is Carlisle there?" I said, cutting her off.

She huffed in frustration. "Edward!" She groaned.

"Is He There?" I asked again, more sternly this time.

She sighed and I heard the phone shuffling hands.

"Edward, what's happened?" Carlisle's concerned voice came over the line.

"Sam and I caught up to the nomads today." I began.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Well... the nomads aren't."

"Ah. I see."

"There were two of them; a male and a female. They were mates. We tracked down the female first and she was pretty loud during the battle. She attracted the attention of her mate about a minute into it and he showed up pretty quickly. Sam and I each took care of one, but when it was all over we caught the scent of human blood in the air."

"There was another victim?" He asked, concern filling his voice.

"Yes... unfortunately he must have been in the middle of feeding when he heard us fighting with his mate because he left his meal... alive."

"Oh..." He said slowly, understanding filling his voice.

"I've brought her back to the house."

"Oh my..." Sadness filled his voice. "How is she doing?"

I sighed heavily, my eyes traveling down to her frail agonized form on the couch beside me. "Well, she's not screaming... yet. She's obviously enduring a lot of pain though."

"What do you know about her?"

"I checked her ID and her name is Isabella Swan. Paul recognized her name, apparently she's the daughter of the Police Chief."

"Charlie Swan's daughter?" Carlisle exclaimed.

"It would seem so. Apparently she just moved here to live with him. Paul said he'd heard it was because her mother just remarried."

"Poor girl..." Carlisle voice was small and sad.

"Sam and Paul were going to take care of the nomad's remains and work on faking the scene of Bella's death to make it look more like a wild animal attack."

"Bella?"

"Oh... there was a note in her wallet from a friend. It referred to her as Bella instead of Isabella... I just thought..."

"Ah, I see..." He took in a deep breath, and I could tell he was absorbing all of the information and going over the consequences this new addition would have on our living situation. "Well, we'll look into getting a flight back sooner. Hopefully we can get back there before she wakes up."

"Given the holiday season, I can imagine it being less then easy to get a flight on such short notice. Don't worry too much if you can't. I'm prepared to handle this on my own, for a day at least. And Sam agreed to be nearby when she wakes up in case she makes a break for it."

"Alright, but I'll still try to get an earlier flight scheduled." He was quiet again for a minute. "We'll see how it goes in the beginning, but if it becomes too difficult to raise a newborn here –"

"We'll need to move back to Denali. I know. If it comes to it, I'll take her there myself. I know the others would hate to move again so soon."

"Edward, this is hardly your responsibility to take on alone. We're a family and we'll look after her together. As long as she wants to stay with us, we'll all stick together. It's not like we haven't had to move on for the others on short notice. Even if _some_ of them show a little resistance to the idea, they'll get over it."

I chuckled. We both knew who the '_someone'_ was that was most likely to show resistance.

He let out a heavy sigh now, "Well, I guess all I can do is wish you luck. You've gone through this process before. You know what to do. But if you have any questions, you know you can call me at any time."

"Of course."

"And Edward, keep me informed, alright? I'll let you know right away if I can get back there sooner then scheduled. Even if it's just me."

"Really, Carlisle, you don't have to do that. I'm pretty sure I can handle this on my own, and I'd hate for you to abandon everyone else."

"Don't be silly. If I can work it out, I will. You know that."

I smiled. "Alright. Well, I'll call you later tonight if nothing else happens."

"Sounds good, son. I'll inform the others."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I heard the line go dead and sighed, snapping the small plastic device shut and slipping it back into my pocket.

I turned my head, looking at Bella Swan laying on the couch. She was clearly in an excruciating amount of pain. It was baffling that she was still barely making any noise at all. I knew that I'd been screaming my head off by this point. Esme wailed... not screaming so much, but still making a lot noise. Rosalie screeched. It was ear-piercing. Emmett just yelled out. He practically _roared_at the pain.

But this small girl was barely whimpering. I wondered how long she could actually keep that up. Day two was so much worse...

I sighed heavily at the knowledge of what she was in for.

I couldn't help but wonder about the silence of her mind. I didn't hear anything from her. It was curious, but I had to admit that on some level I was insanely grateful for it. Listening to the thoughts of the others as they endured their transformations had been almost as bad as reliving it myself. It brought back too many vivid memories of my own experience.

It had made it very difficult to stay near them during their respective ordeals and I had run away for several hours at a time in an attempt to escape the pain. Not having that connection with this girl would make it a lot easier for me to stay with her the entire time.

I looked at her, sprawled across the couch. I knew it was irrational, but for some reason I really wanted to get her onto a bed. The couch just didn't look like a proper place to endure such a hardship. Especially for three whole days.

Of course, logically, it really made no difference. Couch or bed, she'd be just as 'uncomfortable' either way. The burning agony would be just as bad either way, but I still couldn't help but wish it.

I quickly left the house, retreating to the large garage we had built behind it where we stored our many cars. In the back there was a large storage room where we kept excess and discarded furniture until we donated it to charity. In there I found Rose and Emmett's last box spring and mattress. It was one of the rare occasions where that portion of the bed had survived, while the frame for it hadn't. But when they'd replaced the frame and headboard, they'd gone ahead and replaced the mattresses as well.

Rosalie had complained that the bed was too soft. She preferred something more firm. I thought the entire argument was ridiculous. It wasn't like they were _sleeping _on the damn thing. I really couldn't imagine how the firmness of it made a bit of difference, but when Emmett started to explain it to me, I shut him up immediately. It really was something I had _no _desire to know the details on.

But now I was greatly thankful for it. I simply wasn't willing to leave her alone in the house, in order to go out and purchase a bed, and at the same time, didn't feel entirely comfortable placing her on one of my sibling's or parent's beds either.

I simply didn't have one. The only furniture in my bedroom was my black leather couch and the bookshelves for my CDs, stereo, and books. My fellow house mates were all coupled off and made use of their beds for intimate needs. I had no such needs, and as such, never had a need for a bed.

I hauled the boxspring back into the house and up the three flights of stairs to the only unoccupied room in the house. Next I ran back down and did the same with the mattress. They were hardly heavy, but they were each large and unwieldy enough to warrant individual trips.

I ran to the linen closet and grabbed a set of clean sheets and a spare comforter, returned to the room and placed them on the bed.

The boxsprings were large enough that it held the mattress nearly two feet off the ground by itself. The mattress had a thick pillowtop layer that raised it even higher. So despite not having a frame to sit it on, it at least looked nicer then one would usually expect a mattress on the floor to look.

Topped with Esme's deep Cerulean blue comforter and pillows, it looked quite nice.

_Not that the girl would care what it looked like while she writhed in pain on top of it for the next three days..._

I sighed.

I suppose I was just trying to distract myself. Something to keep my mind busy.

As I was finishing my preparations I heard her breathing change slightly. She was panting harder and her whimpers were becoming more labored and frantic. For the first time since I'd set my eyes on her, I heard her cry out. It was a little sound. Hardly a scream, but it was such a tortured terrified cry.

I raced back down the two flights of stairs to the main level and rushed to her side on the couch.

She was clawing at her arms, digging her blunt finger nails into her own flesh and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her teeth were clenched tightly shut and strangled cries were escaping from behind them. Ever few seconds it would become too much and her teeth would part just long enough for a small wail or sob to escape before she'd clench her jaw shut again.

She was exerting so much energy to hold back the pain. It was a horribly sad thing to witness.

I scooped her up in my arms in the same fashion I had earlier to bring her here, intent on carrying her up the stairs as quickly as possible to lay her on the bed. Before I even had a chance to move she released her tiny blunt claws from her own flesh and fisted both hands into my shirt. One hand towards the front-center of my chest, and her far-arm reached up and grabbed over my shoulder, holding fast to the fabric there. She curled her body up tightly and nuzzled her head into my chest, sobbing almost-silently. Her body was convulsing and twitching from the erratic jolts of pain.

I froze for a second. I hadn't really been expecting her actions and it had caught me off guard. I guess if I was being honest with myself, I couldn't remember the last time I'd held anyone this closely, and it was quite jarring.

I wasn't a very physical person. I'd grant Esme the occasional motherly hug when she was needing comfort. Alice would get a little too jubilant from time-to-time and spring the random hug on me, but they were always brief. This felt... different, somehow.

Add to that, how frail she was, and how desperately she clung to me...

I regained my senses and made my way to the stairs, taking them slower and more gently then I usually would have.

"Shhhh... it's okay. It'll be okay." I said to her in as calm and soothing a voice as I could muster, as I walked up the final flight of stairs.

I entered the room and bent over the bed, placing her in the center of it and began slowly pulling back. Her arms stretched, but her hands refused to release my shirt and she cried out.

"Shhhh..." I tried to sooth her but the further I got from her the tighter she held on.

"Nnn... Nooo.. No! Noo!" She began whimpering, her arms still trying to pull me to her.

I felt helpless and frantic, and did the only thing I could think of. I crawled onto the bed and laid down beside her.

She curled up into the fetal position on her side, facing me. Both of her hands fisted into my shirt like before and she curled her head into my chest, shaking and jerking from time to time.

I lay there stiffly for a few minutes, unsure what to do. I slowly let my outer arm stretch out and rest over her side lightly. Letting my hand gently stroke up and down her backside.

She let out a heavy sigh and it almost sounded relieved.

We lay there in the quiet of the room, unmoving for several hours. She would whimper and cry out very quietly from time to time, but every time it seemed to get worse, she would pull in closer to my chest and I would stroke my hand up and down her back some more and she'd calm.

It was nice to feel like I was making some small difference, even if I knew it would be virtually meaningless in the fiery hell she was currently enduring.

Despite the fact that I knew it was a bad idea, I couldn't help by let my mind wander back to what this experience was like for me. I was the first person that Carlisle had ever changed. I'd seen in his memories of the event how frantic he had been during it. He was never sure he'd actually done it properly, and could only hope things were progressing as they were intended to.

I remembered how when he'd spoken to me, it'd helped... I hadn't been able to comprehend what he was saying, but just having something, _anything_ to focus on, outside of the pain, was nice. I realized suddenly that I'd barely said a word to the girl.

I wasn't sure where to start, but decided anything would do. She wouldn't remember it. Not the words anyway. It might not do anything for her at all, in fact, but I decided that the possibility that it would help was reason enough to do it.

"Hello Isabella." I started, quietly. Her body jerked slightly in response, but nothing more. She kept her head buried in my chest, underneath my chin.

"Or do you prefer Bella? I'm sorry to admit this, but I had to nab your wallet to find out your name. I'll be returning it as soon as you wake though, so don't worry."

"My name is Edward. Edward Cullen. I want you to know that this thing you're going through will have an end. You aren't dead, and you aren't in hell. The pain will end. It won't go on forever."

No response.

"I know what you're going through. I had to endure it myself as well, long long ago. Despite how many years it's been, I still remember the ordeal with full detail. That memory will stay with me forever. I know it's horrible. And I'm so sorry you have to endure this. I'm so sorry Bella."

She held me tighter still, but her breathing remained unchanged.

"I remember it felt like someone was dragging burning hot barbed wire through every vein in my body... Slowly ripping them out... It was agony. But I want you to know that it only lasts for three days. It'll feel like an eternity, but maybe knowing that it will come to an end will help. That's the best I can hope for you.

"I didn't know if it would ever end. I remember thinking I was in hell. That I'd died and was burning for sins I couldn't even recall. I couldn't imagine what I might have done to deserve such torture. And you've done nothing Bella. Know that this isn't a punishment that you've earned. You do not deserve this, and it _will_ end."

I sighed heavily. I knew I needed to get onto a different topic. Something to get her mind _off_ the burning pain... not something to remind her of it. Not that she could understand a word I was saying through the painful haze anyways.

Slowly I began talking about myself. I told her about what sorts of things I was interested in. I told her about my love for music; specifically my love for playing the piano. I told her about how I could still vaguely recall the lessons my mother had given me when I was a young boy, teaching me how to play. How I wished I could remember her better on my own. The only clear mental image that I had of her was one that I had plucked from Carlisle's memory of her.

I hesitated at first, to go into any detail on _what_ I was... what she was _becoming. _I wasn't sure I wanted to cover that while she was still mostly unconscious. I finally conceded to the fact that she wouldn't understand it anyway and slowly began.

I told her about Carlisle's change. How his father had hunted down demons and vampires, and left the duty to his son upon his retirement. How Carlisle had managed to track down an actual coven of vampires and led a raid on their hovel. How one of the vampires had attacked him, but ran away before finishing the attack because of the violent angry mob.

I told her about Carlisle's first year. How he'd tried to kill himself. Tried to starve himself; throw himself off cliffs; drown himself... All because of his desperate desire to not harm anyone. To retain his humanity.

I told her how he'd first discovered that animal blood was as effective at sating his thirst and human blood was. And then of his search for other vampires who shared his ideals and his choice in feeding habits.

But he wasn't successful in that endeavor. He found no one else who felt as he did. Who valued human life as much as he did, and who was willing to feed off the much less appetizing animal blood, for the sake of retaining humanity.

I told her about his loneliness. His desire to share his true self with other like-minded vampires, and how he eventually came to the conclusion of _creating_ a companion.

Which was how I finally got back to me. I told her about what memories I could manage of my human past. I bared my soul to her in ways I never did to anyone else. I told myself it was simply because I was just 'talking to myself' in a way. Talking to no one. I just needed to fill the void and give her some sound to focus on. But if I'm being honest with myself, I'd have to admit that a part of me _wanted _to tell her. I didn't know why though.

I told her how badly I wished sometimes that I could remember what it was like to actually _be_ human. What it felt like. What food tasted like. What it was like to sleep. I told her about how we don't sleep. How we _can't_ sleep. How endless the nights seem sometimes. How there is no break from one day to the next and how they all just blur together. How easy it is to loose track of the dates sometimes because of it.

I told her about my parents. What I'd learned about them in the years after my change, and what little I could remember of them from before. Carlisle had never met my father, so I had no mental image of him to hold onto. He had died first. I told her about that. How the epidemic had hit so suddenly. How quickly he had died. It seemed to come without any warning. That morning he was fine. He went to work per normal. He came home and we had dinner as a family. He retired early, feeling ill. Within hours he was delirious and coughing up blood...

I remembered that I had fallen ill next, and my mother was so horrified that she would loose me too, she took me to the hospital immediately. She watched over me and worked tirelessly to look after me. In the end she fell ill too, and her condition worsened even faster.

I told Bella about how Carlisle had been a doctor at the hospital when we were admitted. How my mother had known from the moment she saw him that he was something _more_ then he seemed. She had known that there was something more he could do.

On her deathbed she pleaded with him. Begged him to save me. To do everything in his power to keep me from dying, and he'd agreed.

I told Bella about my change again. How I was the first Carlisle had ever bitten and how afraid he'd been.

She laid still, curled into me and clutching me for hours as I talked. Her whimpers had calmed and her body jerked and spasmed in pain with much less frequency then before, so I hoped I was doing some good.

I told her about how when I woke up, I kept answering Carlisle's thoughts, and how he eventually realized I had acquired a new skill during my transformation. How I could hear his thoughts, and the thoughts of anyone around me.

How horribly overwhelming it was at first, and how it had been almost as difficult to endure the countless voices in my head, when near humans, as it was to endure the temptation of their scent.

I told her about how her mind was oddly silent to me, and how it was almost a relief. It was calming to be near her and not _hear_ her. I even admitted why I was grateful. That I didn't think I could handle being this close to her and enduring her suffering along with her, like I had with my siblings during their respective changes.

I told her about my newborn days and how difficult it was. The horrible monstrous temptation of human blood. My total and complete awe and admiration for Carlisle's ability to be near them so easily, and around _blood_ so easily.

Then I told her about Esme. How Carlisle had found her in the hospital morgue, just barely still alive, after she'd thrown herself off a cliff. About how they'd actually met a decade prior, when Esme was only 16 years old. How they'd fallen in love after her change, and how Carlisle and I worked together to help her deal with her first few years as a newborn vampire.

I told her how Esme had filled a void that I needed, just as much as Carlisle. Esme needed to mother someone. She had lost her son, and never properly got to mourn him. I had lost my mother and never gotten to properly mourn her. She comforted me in ways I didn't even realize I needed comforting until she was there.

She became my mother, just as much as Carlisle became my father. They were my parents in every way that mattered and I loved them for it.

The next significant portion of my life story to tell would have been the years I rebelled against Carlisle's feeding philosophy but no matter how many times I told myself that Bella couldn't hear or understand a word I was saying, I still couldn't bring myself to tell her about that time.

It was simply too dark a period for me to discuss, and honestly, I was ashamed of what I'd done during those years. I didn't want to tell her about them.

I heaved a heavy breath, trying to think of what to jump to next when I noticed a glimmer of sunlight peaking through the drawn curtains of the room. I glanced at my watch and saw it was 6:45am. I'd spoken all night without even realizing it.

I knew it'd be getting worse soon. Day two was the hardest. It was when the biggest changes started. When the organs began crystallizing and shutting down. When her skin would begin to change and harden.

She was still warm, but her temperature was already lower then the human norm. She didn't look nearly as sickly as she had when I'd first brought her to the house. Her features no longer looked as battered and bruised, and the wound on her neck had completely healed as well, leaving behind a light silver scar where the nomad's teeth had pierced her skin.

I pulled back slightly, looking her over for the first time since I'd brought her here. She was still a mess. Dried old blood coated the side of her face and neck, and was matted in her hair and on her clothing.

I realized suddenly how desperately I wanted to clean her up.

She was breathing heavily and I realized she was probably sleeping. It would be the last sleep she'd get. After this, the venom wouldn't allow any such peaceful escape. After the next day, she'd be changed to much to ever sleep again, and for the final stint she'd be forced to be awake and aware throughout the remainder of the pain. Experiencing it with a new level of painful comprehension and awareness, as her new vampire senses developed and began working.

I pulled away and her tiny fists released my shirt and fell limply to the bed. She still twitched and spasmed from time to time, as her body instinctively reacted to the pain she was experiencing, but at least her mind was slightly less able to comprehend it now.

I left the room and collected several items. I got a large basin and filled it with cool water and added soap. Then I gathered a large number of towels and a few other necessities and returned to the guest room.

With as gentle a touch as I could muster I cleaned her up. Wiping away the blood, and cleaning her hair.

I hesitated when it came to dealing with her shirt. The gentleman in me felt I should just leave it. I had no business undressing her, especially unconscious. But the honest truth of it was that she would awaken and the scent of her own human blood, soaked through her shirt and so close to her nose would likely drive her mad with thirst. I couldn't risk such a reaction happening so early on. There were no women around to deal with the task for me, so I saw no other option.

I ran to Alice and Jasper's room and quickly sifted through her closet, looking for a loose button down top that would fit Bella, and be easy enough to get on her without jumbling her too much.

It didn't take long to find one, and hopefully Alice wouldn't decapitate me for it later. I returned to the guest room and hesitated for a moment.

"Bella, I need to change your shirt, please forgive me, I'll try to make it as quick and painless as possible."

I reached over and ripped the long-sleeved sweater Bella was wearing, down the center, and slipped it off her body.

She moaned in discomfort as I moved her and her muscles spasmed and jerked in response to the pain. Her bra didn't have any blood on it, which was amazing and relieving beyond description. I just hoped that it hadn't absorbed too much of the smell.

I slipped on the blue silk short-sleeved button-down blouse of Alice's and quickly buttoned it back up. I rested her back onto the bed and sat back, watching her. The blue color was lovely on her, and she looked so much better now that she wasn't caked in her own blood. The scent had even been a distraction for me and now that it was gone I felt much more relaxed around her.

She still appeared to be unconscious... of course that could be said for any time during the change. I knew from my experience with the other's transformations, when I could actually hear their thoughts that it was possible to _sleep_ during the first 24 hours. Carlisle's theory was that after that point, the venom changed the make-up of the brain too much to allow for that slight relief any longer.

After a few more minutes passed I stood up and gathered all of the things I had used to clean her up, and the remains of her old shirt.

The rain jacket that I'd removed from her earlier had, fortunately, absorbed most of the blood. I ran back down the stairs and collected it. I took the bloody towels along with her sweater and jacket and threw them into a metal barrel in the backyard behind the garage and threw in a match.

The fewer potential distractions the better. That had been one of the harder parts of Emmett's transformation. Rosalie had taken most of his bloody and tattered clothing from the bear attack and thrown them away... in a trash can, next to the house. He's smelled it almost instantly upon waking up.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed at the memory. We could hardly blame Rosalie for her mistake; she'd never witnessed a transformation before and was rather frantic through the entire event. She simply didn't know any better.

I kept an ear trained on Bella upstairs, listening for any noticeable changes in her breathing and heart rate and went about tidying up the house. I didn't want to risk disturbing what would likely be the last sleep she would ever get.

– – – – – –


	3. Chapter 2

**Title: **Humble Me

**Perspective: **EPOV

**Continuity:** Twilight Alternate Universe

**Pairing: **ExB – Cannon couples

**Rating: **Will _eventually_ earn an **M** rating... but it'll take a while to get there, but it's T prior to that.

**Description:** Bella moves to Forks earlier – she arrives in Dec for xmas holidays rather then mid-Jan. She has a run-in with a nomad but isn't killed. Edward finds her and takes her home.

**AU Alterations:** The Cullens already have a pre-existing relationship with the small new pack of wolves from the Quileute Reservation.

**Author Notes:** Um... not much to say. Please R&R. **A wonderful Lady named Athey let me adopt this story. This is her second chapter unedited. Enjoy.**

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I kept an ear trained on Bella upstairs, listening for any noticeable changes in her breathing and heart rate and went about tidying up the house. I didn't want to risk disturbing what would likely be the last sleep she would ever get.

After about an hour had passed I decided to call Carlisle. I didn't have anything significant to tell him, but I needed something to pass the time and distract me a little.

We didn't talk for very long. He'd made several attempts to get an earlier flight back. The only flights he _had_ found that he could get on, Alice had seen would end up with delays and long layovers, resulting in him getting home just as late as the rest of them anyway.

I described Bella's puzzling behavior to him. How it seemed she almost refused to cry out in pain. She was fighting so hard not to show her suffering. He suggested it was probably a sign of her personality type, but I still found it baffling.

She had to be an incredibly strong individual to be able to endure such torments.

I finally remembered to tell him about her silent mind. It was an oddity that had slipped my mind before that point, and he found it very fascinating, but had no explanation for it.

After a while Alice stole the phone from him and told me she didn't mind giving up the blue blouse to Bella, and for me to not worry about it. Alice always lived in the future and the way she spoke, you'd think that she and the girl were already best friends. It was sort of a relief to hear Alice speak in such a manner about her, despite how brief our conversation was.

Part of my mind was still in some sort of shock over everything that had transpired during the last twenty-four hours. I was still living very much in the moment. The furthest ahead I was able to think at the moment was to the time when she would wake up. Thinking into the distant future hadn't yet worked its way into my mind.

It had been a _long_ time since we'd had a newborn in the house. Emmett had been the last and that was over 70 years ago.

Part of me hoped to stay in Forks, but I wasn't sure how good an idea that was. Obviously we'd have fewer human interactions to worry about in Denali, and keeping her here ran the risk of her being seen by someone who could recognize her for who she was...

Honestly I was sick of Alaska, and had absolutely no desire to go spend time near the succubus sisters again right away. I suppose I could always ask Bella what she wanted. I'd take her wherever she wanted, even if the family didn't want to relocate yet... This, of course, was assuming I could actually handle her on my own. That was still yet to be seen. But Carlisle had managed to deal with me on his own.

It was odd, and logically I knew it was irrational, but I somehow felt responsible for the poor girl. Like I had somehow failed her. If I had done a better job, somehow this might not have happened.

I could have tried harder to track down the nomads before they ever attacked her. I could have gone after the male while Sam finished off the woman. I'd known he was out there. I heard his thoughts, but I hadn't heard anyone else with him so I didn't realize he had the girl.

I managed to keep myself busy for several hours longer, popping my head into the room to check on her every hour to so.

It was just shortly after noon when it began. I had just stepped out of the shower and was in my closet when I heard it. The first scream slipped through her soft lips and it sent a jolt down my spine. She'd been so quiet up until that point that the stark contrast was deafening. And it wasn't even that loud of a scream.

I quickly threw on a pair of slacks, slipped my cellphone back into my pocket, and raced down the hall to the guest room and ran to her side. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and her hands were clawing at her arms again, tearing dark red streaks into the already toughening flesh. Her body was jerking with spasmed waves of pain and her head was thrashing back and forth. Her eyes were pulled closed tightly, her brows creased together in agony and her mouth was open, panting and crying.

"Make it stop! Make the fire stop!" She screamed, and the sudden coherent words shocked me.

"Bella!" I called as I grabbed her hands, pulling them away from her arms before she could break the skin and get more blood all over. Her face changed almost instantly when my cool hands touched her wrists and her agonized screams shifted to sobs as her body shifted towards mine and her tiny hands grabbed a hold of my forearms, pulling me towards her.

I hesitated the moment my brain registered that I was still shirtless, but her whimpers were so desperate I didn't have the heart to pull away. I laid back onto the bed beside her and her hands went to my chest as they had before, but now there was no shirt to fist her hands into.

She actually let out a small gasp when she felt my cold bare skin. The reaction made me wonder what her mind could actually process at this moment. Awareness of the outside surroundings has been extremely limited in every change I've witnessed, including my own. It wasn't until very near the end that I was finally able to process some semblance of information about where I was and what sounds and smells I picked up on.

Much to my surprise, she pressed her bare forearms up against my cold skin and sighed at the contact. That's when it first occurred to me. She was burning up, and I was ice cold. The temperature of my skin was a relief to her.

Her arms snaked around my sides and she held them tightly against my skin, pulling my chest to her and burying her head into the crook under my neck.

It was an even more intimate position then before and I simply laid there, stiffly for a few minutes, unsure what to do. She was hugging herself tightly to my torso and I could feel her warm soft breasts pressed up against my chest through the thin silk material of her shirt.

She was still whimpering desperately and her body was spasming regularly. I could feel as waves of pain flew through her frail body and she would frequently grip me tighter, to press her arms to the bare skin of my back in varying ways to get more of her burning flesh pressed up against my cold skin.

She shifted several times, placing the side of her face and cheek against my upper chest, then turning her head to get exposure to the opposite side, searching desperately for relief from the pain.

Slowly I relaxed into our strange new arrangement and finally began talking to her again, hoping it would help some, like it had earlier.

I told her about various places I'd been to. Historical places I'd visited during the years. Beautiful cathedrals, museums, art galleries and such, during my travels through Europe. I wasn't sure if she'd care about the topic at all. Not many teenage girls of this generation cared much for antiquities and culture, but it was a topic I was enthusiastic about and it kept me talking for a while.

After a while I began talking about the various symphonies I'd seen, which got me back onto the topic of music. I started ranting about how deeply I enjoyed composing, and how playing my piano was often times the only truly relaxing and enjoyable thing I did these days.

I often escaped into my room and tried to drown out the world with music and just sit quietly on my couch listening to the sound as it filled the room, but even that didn't fill me with the same kind of fulfillment that composing did. Even playing classics of others could act as a great release for me.

During a particularly bad spell, when she seemed to be exerting a ridiculous amount of energy to keep herself from screaming out, I simply hummed several songs to her. I hummed the first song I wrote for Esme, and several others that had always been favorites of mine. I was flooded with relief when they seemed to help her quite a lot.

At some point I became aware that I'd been holding her almost as tightly as she was holding me, and I hadn't even realized I was doing it.

It was strangely comforting to have my arms wrapped around her tiny body, holding her to me. I hoped that once she was awake and fully conscious, that the position we had spent her change in wouldn't upset or offend her in any way. I only wanted to help, and this seemed to be doing the trick.

There was little doubt in my mind, that what I was doing would look inappropriate to any on-looker, especially with my shirt off the way it was. She was young, weak, beautiful, and basically unconscious. I didn't want it to seem like I was taking advantage of her in this state, and hoped that Alice understood what I was doing, since I had no doubt that she'd seen me with the girl in her visions.

The hours past and I could see the changes slowly becoming more and more apparent. Her skin was growing colder and more pale. The sheen was returning to her hair and it was already looking healthier. Her soft facial features were becoming more refined, but the fundamental heart-shape remained.

I realized I had no idea what her eye color used to be since she'd kept them tightly closed the entire time since I'd found her in the woods. I wondered if they were already red, but wasn't willing to force them open to curb my curiosity.

I tried my hardest to never go more then a minute or two without speaking to her. Whenever I did, her whimpers would start becoming more frantic and frequent again, and on a few occasions, my silence lead to another small bout of desperate pain-filled screams.

It was the morning of the third day when I felt my phone begin buzzing my pocket. She stiffened for a moment, surprised by the interruption. I apologized and brought one of my arms down from her back and grabbed the phone, bringing it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Edward, I didn't hear from you yesterday." It was Carlisle.

"Ah, yes, I apologize, but I've been a bit preoccupied."

"Is everything going alright?" He asked, concerned.

"As good as could be expected. I've been trying to help her in whatever ways I could. She's still trying so hard to hold back from showing any reaction to the pain. She's only screamed a hand-full of times. She's honestly quite remarkable."

I felt her arms tighten around me for a moment, and I lightly rubbed the arm that was still wrapped around her up and down her back.

"It should be getting near the end now." Carlisle said after a moment.

"Yes. I figure it should only be about five more hours until she should wake up. How goes the travel plans?"

"Our flight leaves in seven hours. The total flight time is 23 hours, with a brief layover in Atlanta, so we should be home tomorrow late afternoon-early evening. That will leave you with her alone for a little over a day, are you still sure you can handle that?"

"I'm sure, father. It's not like you guys could get here in time anyway. Sam will be nearby, but I'm still optimistic that I won't even need his help."

"I hope you're right. I have to admit that part of me is actually rather disappointed that I've missed this event. It's been a very long time since Emmett's transformation, and his was the last newborn change I witnessed."

"Be serious Carlisle. Even I know that your curiosity only goes so far. Witnessing this sort of ordeal has never been pleasant for you."

"True, but I do still feel bad for leaving you to deal with it all on your own." He sighed.

"I understand... but honestly, Carlisle, I'm almost glad it's been just the two of us. In the beginning I was afraid it'd be awkward and miserable..." I mused as my hand gently stroked her hair and she pulled herself closer to me again. Her strength had increased exponentially over the previous night and her grip on me strong and fierce. Yet somehow... I liked it.

"But it hasn't been awkward or miserable?" He prodded.

"...no." I said quietly. "Not at all. Aside from how badly I feel for the pain she's enduring, I have to admit that I've enjoyed the... closeness." I hesitated. Not entirely sure how much detail about our physical situation I was willing to give out to him at the moment. "I'm actually quite saddened by the knowledge that it will end once she's awake. I'm sure she won't want to be anywhere near me for a while after that." I finished with a quiet sadness.

"Hmm.." He mused quietly as if he understood something unspoken. "I wouldn't be too sure of that Edward. You'll never know until she wakes up. I'll call again before the flight leaves. She'll surely be awake by then. Best of luck to you."

"Thank you father."

I sighed and flipped the phone shut and back into my pocket.

"Edward..." escaped from Bella's lips in a breathy whimper.

I froze, shocked. My eyes traveled to Bella's face, nuzzled in my chest and felt her arms tighten around me again.

Had I imagined it?

She spoke my name. I'd only told it to her once, very early on during the first day. It was difficult to imagine that she'd actually heard it, and remembered it this entire time... Carlisle had just said my name over the phone. Her hearing should be quite advanced at this point so there was no doubt she could have heard every word from the phone conversation. But the idea that she was mentally aware enough to actually listen to the words of it was still difficult to believe.

"Bella?" I said, my voice breathy and questioning.

Her muscles tensed and jerked as another wave of pain overcame her and I felt her blunt nails digging into my back and she held me tightly, letting out a small strangled cry.

"Shhh... it'll be okay Bella. It'll be over soon." I said, wrapping my arms around her back again, holding her tightly.

I felt a light sigh escape her lips quickly followed by another weak whimper.

Still unsure if I had perhaps imagined the entire thing, I slowly slipped back into what I had been telling her before Carlisle had called.

–

The change was all but complete. Her heart rate had been slowing for hours and was beginning to show the final signs of it's eminent halt.

I slipped the phone from my pocket and selected Sam's number from the list and went into the text message section.

I quickly sent him a message, letting him know that Bella would be waking soon – most likely within the next 30 minutes and for him to get into position, but to keep a good distance, and to stay downwind if possible. I'd call him if anything went wrong.

A minute later he texted back his confirmation, telling me he'd be ready.

I slipped the phone back into my pocket and sighed trying to pull away from Bella. She cried out at the loss of contact with me, but I didn't know how she'd react if she woke to find me shirtless and in bed with her.

"It's alright Bella. I'll be right back, I promise. It's so close now. The pain will be gone soon, I swear it."

I said, trying to sooth her, as I reached my hand over and gently brushed a lock of hair that had fallen across her forehead and rested on her cheek.

She hummed weakly and moved into my touch against her cheek and I faltered, stunned slightly. It almost sounded like a... _pleasant_ response, which was hard for me to imagine giving the pain I knew she was in.

I recovered myself and stepped back. She whimpered at the loss of contact and the strangest emotions overwhelmed me.

"I'll be back." I whispered before dashing out of the room and down the hall to my own to grab a shirt.

–

I knelt on the floor beside her mattress-only bed, clasping her hand in my own counting the seconds that passed between each heartbeat.

Each individual thrum was weaker and farther spaced then the last.

Thu-thump...

Her skin was no longer blazing hot to me. Now she felt the same temperature as me and her touch was simply a nice mild warmth. Her skin, that had once felt so exceedingly delicate that I'd feared my touch would shred her like tissue paper, now molded comfortably between my hands.

I was anxious and nervous, sitting there, waiting for the final moments to pass. Unsure how the next stage would progress.

Thu-thump...

There was a confusing whirlwind of emotions and impulses passing through my mind. They had been growing in intensity as the last few days had passed and at this point it was a hectic hurricane in my head that I was having trouble making sense of.

Thu-thump...

I wanted to help her, so badly. I wanted to comfort her. Help her through this time, that I knew would be so difficult. I wanted to try and make it as easy and painless as possible, but at the same time, I was terrified that I wouldn't be up to the task.

Thu-thump...

Never before, with Esme or my siblings, had I had such a strong desire to help with the newborn years. Never before had I felt such a connection with the person, before they'd even woken up. And I had actually been able to _hear_ their minds during the painful change. Bella had been mentally silent to me during her entire transformation.

Thu-thump...

I wondered absently if that would change at all when she woke up. If I'd _ever_ be able to hear her, or if I would be forever cut off from her mind.

Thum...

My breath caught, and I clasped her hand tighter in mine.

thum...

thump.

It stopped. Her last heartbeat came and went.

I don't know why I felt so anxious at this point. It wasn't like I hadn't seen it several times before. I knew it was what was _supposed _to happen. But somehow part of me still feared she'd truly died. That she was gone. My chest felt tight at the irrational fear and I was confused as to why.

I sat there perfectly still and watched her for any signs of life. A minute passed and nothing... the anxiety grew with each passing second and my chest felt tighter as the irrational fears began overwhelming my mind.

Two minutes... nothing.

I hesitated - "Bella..." I breathed out, gently squeezing her hand.

Her eyes flew open and she breathed in sharply.

Her nostrils flared and her eyes stared at the ceiling, motionless. Slowly she breathed in and then out and I could see her eyes shifting focus slightly from the ceiling, to the rays of light filtering through the window, to the dust particles in the air.

Suddenly her focus shifted and she turned her head towards me. Our eyes met and I was stunned into silence. She was overwhelming. It was so strange. I'd been watching her for days now, but somehow in that moment, it felt like I was seeing her for the first time.

"Eh... Edward?" She said hesitantly.

I nearly gasped at the shock of it. Her voice was beautiful, and hearing my name come from between her lips sent a foreign emotion coursing through me that I couldn't explain. But what was even more shocking then that, was trying to comprehend how she could have possibly been aware enough through all that pain, to have heard a word I said to her.

"Yes..." I responded weakly.

"You're beautiful." She said, her voice breathy and awed.

My jaw dropped slightly. I was too stunned and overwhelmed by the unexpected events that I simply had no idea how to respond at first.

"Was it all true?" She asked after a moment.

"Was what all true?" I responded, confused.

"You're... a vampire?"

"How... you – you remember? You heard it?"

She nodded slowly, her face confused.

"You were able to listen to what I was saying?" I asked again, still shocked.

"If you didn't expect me to hear it, why'd you say it?" She asked, a puzzled expression crossing her face.

"I... well, I remember from my own transformation that when Carlisle spoke to me, his voice gave me something besides the pain to focus on. But I was still to out of it to be able to listen to any of it. I remember him talking, but I never actually understood any of the words. There was just too much... pain." I ended, quietly and I could see her wince slightly. "I thought if I spoke to you it might help. But I didn't expect you to really... hear it. I'm just surprised is all."

She looked past me, to the wall, her eyes were thoughtful, and I was beginning to feel a slight frustration with my lack of access to her thoughts. I just wasn't used to the silence.

"I'm a vampire." She said after a silent moment.

I nodded and looked at the floor. I couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for that fact. Rationally I knew it wasn't my fault, but I still felt like I should have done something that could have prevented it.

"How did this happen?" She asked.

I looked back up at her. "Do you remember being in the woods? Being attacked? Perhaps a blond man with long hair, tied into a pony-tail? That or a woman with wild red hair –"

"I remember the blond man." She said, cutting me off. "I was walking down this little trail behind... the house... Then he was there. He grabbed me and ran. Everything moved so fast and I just felt dizzy and sick. He threw me against a tree and..." She stopped, her mouth hanging open slightly. "He bit me."

"He was a vampire. A nomad. He and his mate came into the area a couple weeks ago." I began, "My family and I had planed a trip out of the country before it all started. Sam Uley from the reservation... I'll explain about him later, he came to us and asked if any of my family would be willing to help him and his pack track down the nomads. I agreed to stay, especially since I didn't want to go on the trip anyway.

"Sam and I had been trying to track them down all week. The day you were attack... that was the day we caught up with his mate. We cornered her and during the battle she screamed out. He heard her and came to help. We... took care of them. Both of them. But once everything had calmed down we caught your scent on the wind and went to investigate. That's when I found you. He'd already bitten you – there wasn't anything I could do. I'm so sorry." My head fell down and I couldn't meet her gaze. Part of me truly felt ashamed. I'd failed her somehow.

"What are you sorry for?" She looked at me with the most adorable puzzled expression as she sat upright, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed. Her movement was so fluid. It wasn't like I hadn't seen that grace day-in and day-out from my family for years, but for some reason watching her move seemed... mesmerizing.

"I... I don't know." I said after I regained my senses and looked back at my hands. "For not finding them sooner. For not realizing he had you. Not stopping him before he attacked you."

"You can't blame yourself for that... if it weren't for you I'd be dead... or I'd be like this and I'd be all alone. I'd have gone through... through all of _that_ all alone." She wrapped her arms around her torso tightly and she looked so sad and afraid that I felt an overwhelming need to reassure her.

"You're not alone now. As long as you want to stay with me you're welcome. I'll never leave you to fend for yourself."

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly and the sadness receded slightly from her eyes.

"Thank you for being with me. It was so..." She closed her eyes and her forehead creased at the unpleasant memories. "If it weren't for you I don't think I could have made it. Listening to you speak was the only thing that made any difference."

"I'm glad I could help." I said quietly, looking back at my hands.

She was quiet for another moment as her eyes searched the room shifting focus from one tiny detail to the next.

"I didn't get everything you said." She said out of nowhere. "I sort of came in and out. You live with others right? I... I know you've got your father. The one who changed you, but I don't remember all of the details on everything else."

"Oh.. Well, there's Carlisle and Esme. They act as our parents. Carlisle is the man who changed me. After me came Esme. Then Rosalie and a few years later Emmett. Alice and Jasper joined our family quite a few years later on their own. They found us, they weren't changed by Carlisle. I can tell you more details later, or they can tell you themselves when they get back. I'm sure now you probably need to hunt. You're throat must be –"

"Hunt!" Her eyes grew wide and they looked terrified and she tightened her death hug around her own torso. "Oh god... I don't know if I can do that."

I stood up and walked to her side, about to sit next to her on the bed, silently asking permission with my eyes. She nodded quickly.

I slowly sank down onto the mattress beside her and shifted slightly to face her.

"Bella..." I hesitated for a moment, remembering something I'd meant to ask her, "Do you prefer Bella? Or Isabella?"

"Huh? Oh... Bella... I think." Her eyebrows pulled together and furrowed in confusion for a moment.

"Well, Bella, do you remember any of the things I told you about newborn vampires? About the thirst?"

She shuddered. "You said that it would most likely be overpowering at times. That the thirst is the worst during the first year, but it gets better after that. I don't remember much else... Edward," her pleading doe eyes flew up to meet mine and they looked terrified, "I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want to kill people." She nearly cried the words, her voice broken and weak.

Without even thinking I wrapped my arms around her tiny torso and pulled her closer, trying to provide her with some comfort. "Shhh.. don't worry. I won't let that happen. I'll protect you, even from yourself. As long as you don't want to hurt people, I won't let you. I told you we hunt animals; you remember that right?"

She nodded into my chest where she was burring her head.

"I'll help you learn to hunt and I'll always be there to help you through it, alright?" I continued, "I won't go anywhere. I told you, you aren't alone, and I meant it."

Slowly, she released her death-grip from her own torso and snaked her arms out to wrap around my waist. I had expected this to be awkward now that she was fully awake, and yet somehow it wasn't.

I'd never been a physical person, and yet somehow... with Bella it was okay.

"Edward..." She began in a small muffled voice after a few silent minutes passed.

"Yes?"

"What happened, exactly, to the vampire that... that _bit_ me?"

I stiffened for a second. I hated to admit to her that I'd killed him. I'd hoped when we started trying to hunt down the nomads that we could simply get them to leave the area. I'd always known that the possibility existed that it would come down to a battle, but I hardly relished the idea of killing other people – including vampires.

I sighed heavily. "I – I killed him."

"Oh..."

"Sam killed his mate, so when he came for us he was insane with anger and came straight at me. Usually when nomads come through our territory, we try to get them to leave willingly without having it come down to a conflict. We don't want to kill every vampire that comes through the region, but we can't stand for them coming into the area and killing people, it just... killing them just couldn't be avoided this time." I exhaled a deep breath, hating how badly things had transpired.

She was thoughtful again for another moment and I couldn't help but worry about her thirst. It had to be getting painful. I needed to get her to hunt soon.

"Who is Sam? Is he a vampire?" She asked, pulling away and looking me in the eyes.

"Ah, no. Sam is the head of a small pack of... well, _werewolves_, that live on the local Quileute reservation."

Her eyes widened and she gave me a classic '_are you shitting me?_' look. I couldn't help but laugh.

"So there's vampires _and_ werewolves here... I feel like I woke up in some crazy monster movie." She shook her head dazed. "Do I need to worry about zombie apocalypse now too?"

I chuckled and shook my head no. She sighed and her head fell back onto my chest. It was... nice.

"Bella, I really should get you some nourishment. It's got to be uncomfortable for you."

She pulled back, sitting up a little and looking distance. Her brow furrowed. "What's it supposed to feel like?"

"A burning in your throat? Sort of reminiscent of the burning from the change, but concentrated in one area. It's subtle most of the time, but if you push your thirst too long it'll start hurting worse and worse. When you come across something that smells... appetizing, and you haven't feed in a while, it'll be very difficult to keep control of yourself."

She nodded slowly, taking in the information.

"I do sort of feel that... it's not terrible right now though. It's bearable. But if it gets like the burning from before..." She shuddered before digging her head into my chest again for a moment.

She took in a deep breath and I'd almost have sworn she was smelling me, but she let out a release of air and her body relaxed slightly before she pulled back again and looked me in the eyes.

"I need to drink blood." She said the words slowly, processing them as she said it. "I hate blood. It's always made me sick... I think..." She got the same concerned confused look she had earlier, for a moment before she looked back up at me. "Edward... I can't remember things right. I think somethings wrong."

_Uh oh... _I sighed. "What sorts of things do you remember about your human life?" I asked softly. "Can you remember your parent's faces? Their names?"

She looked away again as if thinking really hard about something before her face fell and her eyes came back up to mine with horrified sadness. "No! I can't! What's wrong with me! Why can't I remember them?"

I sighed and pulled her closer again. "I know... I know... Bella, there's nothing _wrong_ with you. It's a very common and very unfortunate part of the change. Many of us loose a lot of our human memories in the transformation."

"Did it happen to you?" She asked, her sad eyes meeting mine.

I nodded. "Yes... the only reason I remember what my mother looked like when she was alive is because Carlisle saw her, and I picked her face out of his mind after my transformation with my ability to read thoughts. I can't picture my father's face at all. The only reason I know much of anything about my human life is because after my change, Carlisle helped me research my family and learn some of the details that way." I paused for a moment, "If you'd like, I'll help you learn more about who you were. I... Oh!" I halted, remembering her wallet.

She looked up at me startled as I pulled away. "Hang on, I'll be right back, okay?" she nodded.

I got up and raced down stairs to where I'd left her wallet on the coffee table in front of the couch I'd initially placed her on. I flew back up the stairs and returned to my spot beside her on the bed.

She eyed me with wide eyes. "That was fast." She said, her mouth slightly agape.

I chuckled and turned towards her, handing her the small brown wallet. "This is yours. It's how I knew what your name was. You have an Arizona driver's license and it lists your address in Phoenix. Also, I believe your father is Charlie Swan. He's the local police chief. Paul, one of Sam's pack members, said he'd heard you were coming to live with your father and that's why you came here to Forks."

She slowly opened the wallet and examined the various things contained within it while I spoke. She fingered through the photos, looking over each one. She stopped on one that looked like it was about a year or so old. It was Bella with shorter hair standing beside a slightly older woman, their arms wrapped around each other and smiling.

"I think that's my mom." She said quietly.

"I promise I'll help you figure it out. Okay?" I didn't want to rush her, but I was getting more anxious by the minute and wanted to make sure she fed before her hunger became too great.

She nodded, still looking at the picture. "Alright..." she hesitated another moment before folding the wallet closed and slipping her legs out from under her and down to the floor. She stood up with fluid grace and slipped the wallet into her back pocket.

She sighed heavily before looking at me with a hesitant half-smile. "Okay... so I guess we're doing this hunting thing?"

I gave her a soft sympathetic grin and stood up beside her, offering her my hand.

I lead her downstairs through the house and out the front, promising to give her the full tour when we returned.

I lead her to the edge of the small river the traveled not too far from one side of our house and told her to watch me as I leaped across in a single fluid jump.

Her wide eyes stared at me as if I'd just sprouted a second head.

"Come on." I urged, smiling.

"I can't do that!" She squeaked.

I laughed. "Yes you can. Trust me."

She groaned, but after a minute of coaxing, I finally got her to give it a shot. She actually overshot my own leap by a good ten feet, and when she landed and turned back to face me, a shocked smile spread over her lips.

It took about three hours before we returned to the house. Bella never actually managed to catch or kill anything herself, but I'd managed to get a couple deer for her, so she'd had at least fed.

I could hear Sam's thoughts from time-to-time, but he never came close enough for Bella to be aware of his presence, which I was thankful for.

She was rather disheartened by what she saw as a rather poor performance for her first hunt. I insisted she did just fine and to not worry about it. Honestly, Esme had done much the same thing her first time. The idea of killing something, even an animal, was horrifying to her. The only reason she'd managed her own kill was that she was so hungry when she did catch something, that her instincts just took over.

Bella hadn't actually caught any of the deers she went after. I was sure if she had, she would have been able to make the kill. How she would react to it when she did finally manage it was still yet to be seen.

The feeling of truly loosing yourself to the monstrous instinct for the first time was always jarring and upsetting. I was almost relieved to be reassuring her about her failure to kill something, over reassuring her after her first successful kill. I knew it was cowardly of me, and that I'd have to face it and soon... I just didn't want to do it right now.

Bella kept close to me at all times. It seemed that every time I left her alone I'd come back to find her holding her arms tightly around her own torso again. It was as if she was afraid to let go, for fear she'd shatter and fall apart. It broke my dead heart a little every time I saw it, so I made it a point to stay close, and keep some form of physical contact as often as possible.

I led her into the house, holding her hand. I had tried to keep our conversation light to keep her spirits up, but as we neared the house the conversation had somehow managed to drift back to the loss of our human memories.

"Well, Carlisle managed to retain a fair amount of knowledge of his human life. I think it plays a role in his compassion. He remembers his human life better then most, so it made it easier for him to retain his humanity without much effort."

"And the others?" She asked I motioned for her to sit on the couch and sat beside her.

"Rosalie put the most effort into retaining her memories. After her change she started writing down everything. She didn't loose the memories right away, but even when you do retain some, human memories fade quickly overtime unless you do something to avoid it."

"Do something?"

"She would sort of replay her own memories in her mind over and over so that she would learn them with her new vampire mind. Sort of making them into memories that would stick before they had a chance to fade away. She also wrote them down in journals so that she wouldn't loose any specific details."

She nodded and moved slightly on the couch until she was right beside me and rested her head on my shoulder.

It was odd how this sort of closeness would have made me uncomfortable with anyone else, but with her my desire to comfort her, and for her fears and tension to ease was much greater. So I let her relax against me, and after a short while, I found myself relaxing right back against her.

"We can get you a journal and you can use it to keep track of anything you can manage to remember, and any details we dig up about your history."

"I think I'd like that." She said.

"Alice actually has no memories of her human life." I said, getting back to our original topic.

"Really? None?"

"None." I confirmed. "She only remembers darkness before her change. And she was abandoned by her sire, so there was no one to guide her afterwards either."

"That's terrible!" Bella gasped, pulling back from my shoulder enough to look me in the eyes.

"Normally under such circumstances, you'd expect her to go feral. No past, no idea what she was... it truly is amazing that didn't happen."

"How did she manage?" Bella asked, leaning back into my shoulder, but shifting so she could still look up at me better.

"Alice has a gift –"

"Like how you can hear people's thoughts?" She asked.

"Yes, the same sort of idea. But instead of mind-reading, she gets visions of the future. Premonitions of events that haven't happened yet. So even though she woke up with no memories of the past, she saw visions of the future. She saw herself finding Jasper, and then later of the two of them finding us. She saw how we lived off of animals instead of feeding off humans, so she knew that was an option. Most vampires never even realize that there is an alternative to feeding off human blood. They just assume it's the only option they have."

"How did Carlisle figure it out?"

"Well he tried to starve himself in the beginning... do you remember much of this story from when you were changing?"

"A little... His dad was a preacher or something, and then Carlisle was in charge of hunting down vampires... and he found one and it bit him. I remember that." She responded.

"Well, Carlisle knew what he had become, but refused to become a monster. He tried to kill himself but nothing he tried worked. He tried to starve himself but he eventually felt the hunger getting too much for him so he ran to the forests so he wouldn't loose control and kill the people in the town. At one point, in a crazed fit of thirst, he came across a herd of deer and just pounced. That was how he realized that animal blood was able to sustain him.

"Carlisle was alone for more then 250 years, searching for any others who believed as he did – that human life was just as precious as vampire 'life.' That if we have an alternative source for our nourishment, we should use it rather then kill people in order to survive. He never found any. It was around that time he began considering the possibility of _creating _a companion."

"And that was you." She interjected.

I nodded. "Yes. But he probably wouldn't have actually done it if it weren't for the specific circumstances that surrounded our meeting. My dying mother, asking him to save me. The fact that I would have been dead within the next day anyway... Carlisle would never want this life for someone who had another option. Everyone that he's changed was on the brink of death already."

She remained quiet for a few minutes, simply resting against me. The silence wasn't awkward at all. It was quite comfortable.

"So is your family still the only ones you know who feed off animals?" She asked finally.

"We do actually know one other coven who has chosen this lifestyle for themselves. They live up in Alaska in a very secluded region near the Denali National Park, so there's lots of large game to hunt. Their group is made up of three sisters, Tanya, Irina, and Kate, and two others who joined them more recently, Eleazar and Carmon."

"Are they actually _sisters?_"

"Not biologically. They all three had the same sire. So they're sisters in the same way that I'm _related_ to Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. I'm not related by birth to anyone in my family, but that's not what's important. Carlisle is my father in every way that matters. Esme is my mother, even thought, _technically_ I've been a vampire longer then she has. In every maternal sense that matters, she's my mother now. And Alice and Jasper are my sister and brother, even though we not only have no biological relation, but don't even share a sire. The technicalities don't matter."

"I imagine it would be nice to have such a large family..."

"You do now." I said, turning and looking down at her and reaching over to grasp one of her hands with mine.. "If you want it. We will be _your_ family. That's the biggest difference between what we are and what most vampire covens are. Not just the way we choose to feed, but the way we choose to live. We aren't just a _coven_. We're a family."

She smiled up at me and her eyes sparkled lightly. The red color wasn't even the least bit distracting. They were still beautiful.

She ducked her head, after a minute, as if embarrassed for some reason and let her head rest back against my shoulder taking in a few slow breaths.

Suddenly my pocket started buzzing. She pulled back and eyed me curiously for a minute as I reached in and dug out my cellphone.

She sat stiffly on the couch, not touching me and putting her hands tightly into her lap looking forward.

I hesitated a moment, confused by her posture change, but flipped open the phone.

"Hello Carlisle." I said.

"Edward! We're about to start boarding, but I wanted to call and see how things are going. She's awake by now, I assume?"

"Yes. She's doing wonderfully." I smiled back at her and her eyes widened, her face somewhat surprised. "She's actually quite remarkable. I spoke to her through most of her transformation, just hoping to provide a sound distraction, but apparently she heard me."

"She understood and remembered what you said?" He replied, surprise coloring his tone.

"Yes. So she woke up already knowing somewhat what was happening."

"That really is quite remarkable."

Bella was ducking her head and staring at her hands, letting her hair cascade down the side of her head, creating a curtain between myself and her eyes.

I reached over and tucked the hair back behind her ear and turning her head slightly to look at me. Her eyes were wide as she looked into my face. I tried to smile reassuringly at her and reached down to place my hands atop hers.

She smiled shyly back and I motioned for her to come back to me from her statue-like posture on the other side of the couch.

One part of me claimed it was merely because I didn't like her looking so uncomfortable and solitary over there, but another part of me honestly missed having her body leaning against me.

"Has she hunted yet?" Carlisle asked, bringing my attention back to the phone.

"Yes. It went well enough. At least there weren't any unpleasant complications. She'll only get better."

"Did she have a Bambi moment?" He asked, his voice soft and caring through the phone.

I chuckled and she looked at me with questioning eyes.

"No little fawns, just not used to her own strength or speed yet. She's holding back too much still and didn't quite manage to catch anything. She'll get there." I said softly, looking at her reassuringly.

She grinned timidly back up, and buried herself into my shoulder some more.

"Well I'm glad things have gone smoothly so far. Our flights boarding so I have to get off. When we hit our layover in Atlanta I'll give you another call. We'll be home tomorrow evening."

"Alright Carlisle. Have a nice flight."

He chuckled through the phone. "Sure. I'll try." I said sarcastically. Carlisle was never a fan of air travel, especially really _long _air travel. The only one in the group who was likely to enjoy it _less_then Carlisle was Jasper.

"Bye."

"Bye."

I shut the phone and slipped it back in my pocket.

Bella sighed against my shoulder and I looked back down to her.

"How about that tour?" I asked.

She stared blankly for a split second before smiling. "Sure."

–


	4. Chapter 3

**Title: **Humble Me

**Perspective: **EPOV

**Continuity:** Twilight Alternate Universe

**Pairing: **ExB – Cannon couples

**Rating: **Will _eventually_ earn an **M** rating... but it'll take a while to get there, but it's T prior to that.

**Description:** Bella moves to Forks earlier – she arrives in Dec for xmas holidays rather then mid-Jan. She has a run-in with a nomad but isn't killed. Edward finds her and takes her home.

**AU Alterations:** The Cullens already have a pre-existing relationship with the small new pack of wolves from the Quileute Reservation.

**Author Notes:** AN: _**I can only wish I created this magnificent story. No, I only adopted it from the wonderful Athey. This following chapter is her original words. R&R**_

– – – – – – – – – – – –

"Wow... I think you've got as many CDs, tapes, and records in here to fill most music stores." She said as we entered my room on the third floor. The tour hadn't really taken very long since I wasn't really willing to linger too long in my siblings and parent's bedrooms when they weren't present.

Bella had loved Jasper's library and I could imagine her spending a lot of time there. Carlisle's study had interested her with all of his various collected nick-knacks from his centuries of traveling and the classic paintings on his walls.

"Oh! You've got books in here too." She said, as she found the shelf where I kept my small personal book collection. Generally I kept my books mixed in with Jasper's library, but I had a few that I cared more about then others that I kept in my own room.

"You're quite the book fan aren't you." I chuckled.

She paused, looking out the window, her eyebrows knitting together. "I don't remember... but I think so." She shrugged and returned to looking around my room.

It was almost strange having a girl up here. I hardly ever let anyone into my room. I actually found myself feeling a little self-conscious.

"Do you sleep on a couch?" She cocked an eyebrow at me questioningly.

I stiffened. I guess she hadn't picked up on that part from my talking during her change, and I hadn't actually told her since she'd awoken either.

"Oh, Bella... Actually we can't sleep... at all." I said, hesitantly.

She stared at me for a moment. "Oh... that's right. You did say something at one point... you said you wished you could remember what it was like to sleep. This is what you meant."

I nodded, looking away slightly. It was one of those things I'd admitted mostly because I had assumed she wasn't listening. I didn't often say things like that aloud. Not even to Carlisle.

Her eyes were thoughtful but concerned. "I don't think I like that."

I raised an eyebrow, not sure what exactly she meant.

"If you never sleep, the days would just blur together. It'd be just one endless day." She said, still looking away.

I nodded. "It definitely effects time perception."

"So you never get tired? Never feel sleepy?"

I shook my head. "Never."

"Would I be able to lay down for a few hours each night anyway? Or would that feel weird?"

I cocked an eyebrow, eying her curiously as I pondered her question. "There's no reason you couldn't do that. Obviously you wouldn't fall asleep, but sitting and doing nothing is actually pretty natural to us. I often spend hours just sitting in my room listening to music with my eyes shut, doing nothing else. It's very soothing actually."

"It would probably help with your perception of the passage of the days as well." I continued. "If you make a habit of it; do it at the same time every night, it could be a very effective way to mentally mark the end of one day and the beginning of another."

She smiled lightly. "I think I'll do that." She looked thoughtful for a minute before turning to look at me. "How come there were beds in all of the other's rooms if none of them sleep?"

I blinked and raised a single eyebrow at her.

"...oh. Oh. Oh!" She said the same word three times, but it sounded different each time as a new level of realization hit her. I chuckled. "They're all couples, aren't they?"

I nodded, still smiling and laughing lightly under my breath at her naive question. "Yes. They're _couples_."

She looked back around my room, sheepishly and I could see the cogs turning behind her eyes and felt a wave of curiosity as I suddenly wished I could hear her thoughts.

"So..." she began hesitantly, "you don't keep a bed around for _that_ sort of thing?"

I sucked in a breath, realizing what she was asking. "No... I don't have a mate, so I've never had a need for a bed for... for _that _sort of thing." I admitted quietly.

"Oh." She said quietly, still not looking me in the face.

She cleared her though, even though I knew she didn't need to and finally turned around to face me. "So what other strange vampire things do I need to know? I already know I'm not going to combust if I go out in the day, and I didn't sprout any fangs when I hunted..."

I laughed, relieved at at her lighthearted change of topic.

"Well... you're right about the daylight not killing us. That's a myth, but we do still need to avoid direct sunlight when around humans."

"Oh? Why?"

"It's... difficult to explain. The direct sunlight reflects off our skin in a unique way. I'll take you out and show you the next sunny day. In any case, it means when the sun comes out, we stay in. If humans saw us in the sunlight it'd be very obvious that we weren't human."

"Okay. So what else? Do we turn into bats?"

I laughed loudly and she smiled widely in response. "We can't transform into bats. Or anything, for that matter. And you're right, we don't have fangs, just very _very _sharp teeth. You'll never have to brush your teeth again – if you tried you'd obliterate the toothbrush."

She giggled. "I'll keep that in mind. But how do they stay clean then?"

"The venom dissolves anything in our mouths."

"Venom?" Her eyes widened.

"You probably tasted it when we were out hunting. The smell of blood will especially trigger a release of it into your mouth. It paralyzes our prey... it's also what brings about the transformation, if the victim isn't killed." I tried to finish more gently, since the topic was still fresh with her. She didn't seem upset by it though, but I could see her mind working on something again.

"What happens if you bite an animal, but don't kill them? Do you get Vampire Deer?"

I gaped at her. "I... have no idea." I laughed weakly. "Its not exactly something I ever thought to try. Nor do I think I'd want to try it." I laughed again. "The idea of vampire deer running around isn't very appealing."

She giggled and nodded. "Yeah I agree."

"It's actually extremely difficult to stop feeding once you've started. Changing a person into a vampire is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do because our instincts tell us to just keep drinking until the person is dead. Drinking just enough to inject the venom, but then stopping without killing the person is _very very_ hard. It takes a level of self-control that few of us possess. I imagine the only reason the vampire that bit you was able to pull away was because he knew his mate was in danger."

She nodded and was quiet again for a minute. "Let see... what other vampire legends have I heard... well, we don't sleep and don't have to worry about burning up in the sun, so I'm assuming we don't have any reason to hide in coffins filled with the dirt of our _homeland_."

I chuckled. "Definitely a 'no' on that one."

She giggled. "Can we hypnotize people?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Although many humans to seem to be quite dazzled by our appearances, so it's still easy to get them to do what we ask."

"Our appearance? Well I guess I can see that working with _you_, but I doubt I'm gonna have that kind of effect on people." She said laughing.

I stared at her, my mouth agape for a moment. I realized suddenly that she still had yet to see herself, but even before her change, and once I cleaned away the matted blood she had been stunning. It was a subtle beauty, true, but a true beauty.

I stood up and reached my hand out to her, motioning for her to take it without saying a word. She eyed me confused for a moment, but took it and followed.

I lead her towards the door to the large bathroom that our two rooms shared, but paused before pushing it open.

"Bella... There's one more thing I need to tell you. You're eye color has changed from what it was when you were human. When a vampire feeds off human blood their eyes are red. Since my family and I feed on animals, our eyes are amber instead. As a newborn, your body is still filled with your own human blood. It will take your body ten to twelve months to fully absorb all of your own human blood, so until that time your eyes will remain red. Don't be too shocked by it. It'll pass and after a few months have passed of feeding off of animals, the red will darken to more of a burgundy, with golden flecks."

She nodded silently and I pushed open the bathroom door and lead her in, turning her to face the large mirror over the sink.

She gasped and reached her hand up to touch her face.

"Is that _me?" _She whispered, slowly moving her hand back in forth as if mystified by the figure in the mirror's strange ability to mimic her movements.

"Do you see now?" I asked, standing behind her.

"Wow..." She said in a light whisper. "So this is all from the change?" She asked, looking into my eyes through the mirror.

"I thought you were quite beautiful even before the transformation changed your features." I replied softly.

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly agape for a moment before it popped shut and she looked away shyly, averting my gaze.

I chuckled lightly and finally shifted towards the other side of the bathroom and opened the door the went to her room.

"I guess we can conclude our tour in _your _room." I said, motioning my arm towards the room she had spent the last few days in.

"Oh! We share a bathroom?" She said, finally pulling herself away from the mirror.

"We do now." I smiled. "I'm sorry the room is rather barren. It was empty up until I brought you here three days ago. I'm just glad that we hadn't gotten rid of Rose and Emmett's last mattress, or else I wouldn't have had anything to lay you on."

"I don't mind at all. It's incredibly kind of you to go so out of your way to look after me. And seeing as how I won't even actually be sleeping, I don't need anything fancy."

"We'll still get you a bed frame." I said, letting my hand slip to the small of her back, without even thinking, "And it really is no trouble at all. Besides, Esme will be thrilled with the opportunity to decorate the room with you. She's been trying to decide what to do with this room for ages."

"I guess... I don't want to be a bother though." She said, sighing.

"You're not a bother. I mean it."

She smiled weakly and looked back at the bed. "So why did your siblings abandon this mattress? It looks perfectly fine to me."

"Rosalie insisted that the mattress wasn't firm enough for her liking and wanted a different one."

She stared at me with a dumbfounded look. "Why the heck would _that _matter to her? It's not like she was going to be sleeping on it.

I chuckled. "That's what _I _said."

–

We talked for hours after that. At one point she had me repeat a lot of what I'd said to her during the second day of her transformation, since that was the day she had the hardest time listening to what I was saying.

Without even thinking, she slipped the same position on her bed that we had occupied the days before.

We started out simply laying on our back on each side of the bed, and somehow throughout the course of our talks, we shifted towards each other. By 1am she had her head rested on my chest, while I lay on my back, my hands propped beneath my head.

I'd spent so much time close to her over the last few days that I didn't give our proximity to each other a second thought. It just felt... natural.

"What time is it?" She asked.

I reached into my pocket and brought out my cell phone bringing it up until I could see the time on the small outer screen. "One-oh-seven."

"I think maybe I'll do that pretend sleeping thing now."

I chuckled. "_Pretend sleeping thing._ That's cute."

She poked me playfully, but got quiet for a moment.

"Edward?" She began.

"Yes, Bella?"

"Would you... stay?"

I turned my head to look her in the eyes and smiled softly. "Of course."

"Thank you." She whispered softly and pulled me closer, clutching my shirt in her small hands.

And so we lay there, silent and unmoving for the next four hours. She closed her eyes and relaxed against me, and if I hadn't known better, I would have sworn she truly was asleep.

I lay there musing over the effect this girl was having on me. I'd spoken more about myself in the last few days then I had in several decades combined.

Even now that she was changed and awake and newborn, she still came off as so fragile and delicate. I had never felt so _needed_ before. And what was even better was that I felt like I could do something about her need. I felt like I could really help, and because of it, I found I had no hesitation to do so.

She needed my strength and I wanted nothing more then to lend it to her.

It was such a strange and foreign experience for me. But I liked it. I liked feeling needed. I liked being the one who could help her. I liked that my presence could sooth her and help her heal.

When she finally decided it was time to 'wake up', she took a shower while I went and dug through Alice's closet again for a set of loose casual cloths that would fit her and laid them out in her room for her.

I took her hunting again, even though she insisted that the burn wasn't that bad. I'd quickly begun to realize that Bella was a bit of a silent martyr. She would suffer along and in total silence, if only to avoid making anyone else worry about her. I theorized that was probably a large part of why she'd tried so hard to keep from screaming during her change.

Her second hunt went much like the first. She still held back and hesitated and just barely missed every animal she chased after. I caught several large bucks, snapping their necks and bringing them back to her.

We walked back to the house slowly, admiring the forest and talking about the way things sounded and smelled. She marveled at the complexity of everything she could perceive now. It was a refreshing reminder to me. It'd been so long since it had all been 'new' to me. Being with her reminded me of how amazing it could be to just enjoy it.

We spent several hours in my room listening to music. It was strange how I realized that I'd never really done that with another person before. She curled up against me on my black leather sofa, her knees pulled up to her chest and her head rested on my shoulder and we just sat in quiet listening.

Occasionally I'd remark on something a certain song would remind me of, or tell her about a time I'd gone to see certain bands or performances live.

Shortly after noon my phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out and to my head. This time Bella didn't pull away from me, she remained comfortably lodged against my side, clinging onto my arm with her tiny hands.

"Hello Carlisle." I said, answering the phone.

"We're in Atlanta. Only a few more hours and we'll be in Seattle." He said and I could hear the weariness in his voice.

"Been a long night?" I asked, smiling.

He sighed heavily. "Long _flight, _to be specific."

"Well at least the flight between Atlanta and Seattle won't be nearly as long."

"Thankfully." He groaned.

"How's Jasper holding up?" I asked.

"He's been better, but he hunted yesterday before we arrived at the airport, so his control is more then fine. Just a lot of pent up emotions on the plane as well."

"I can imagine." I grinned.

"So how are you doing? And how is our new addition?"

"I'm great, and so is Bella. Things couldn't have gone smoother."

"That's fantastic to hear. That's quite a relief. Alice kept trying to reassure me that nothing would go wrong, but I still managed to find things to worry over." He chuckled weakly.

"Well, given our history with the others, I had been fairly weary myself. But Bella's given me considerably less trouble then we got from Rosalie or Emmett. And even Esme."

"Well, that's quite impressive. I'm really looking forward to meeting her. Alice can't stop bouncing in place, she's so excited."

I laughed lightly.

"So how was the trip? I hadn't really asked how it went, I've been so consumed with what's been going on here."

"Oh it was a lot of fun. The girls had a blast and spent far too much money." He chuckled, "Esme purchased quite a few large items that she's having shipped back to the house. I think she picked up a fairly large number of things to decorate Bella's new room with. Alice also purchased some clothing for her, but since we were in Rio, there wasn't an awful lot of Forks-friendly clothes. She says she'll be helping Bella shop online once we get home." He laughed.

I groaned, but smiled. Bella eyed me cautiously, having heard every part of the conversation so far.

"So what's our newest family member up to, right now?" Carlisle asked.

"She's right here actually. We've spent most of the morning in my room on the couch just talking and listening to music."

He laughed and I wasn't entirely sure why. "That sounds like a very present-day teenager type of thing to do." He said and I could hear the smile. I rolled my eyes at his comment.

"Well, I suppose I should let you go." Carlisle continued. "We're at the proper terminal now and our flight will be boarding in a few minutes."

"Alright. Have a nice flight. We'll see you all in a few hours."

He laughed, "I'll _try_ to have a nice flight. I look forward to seeing you again and finally meeting Bella. See you soon Edward."

"Bye father."

I slid the phone back in my pocket and turned back to Bella to see a concerned frown on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"They shouldn't be spending money on me." She said, not making eye contact.

I laughed. "Bella, spending money is what they _do_. You were just something new to spend money on. You gave them an excuse to do something they enjoy."

"Why did you groan when Carlisle mentioned Alice and shopping?" She met my gaze finally and eyed me curiously.

I paused for a moment. "Bella, do you remember if you enjoyed shopping? When you were human, I mean?" I asked tentatively.

She pondered my question for a moment before answering. "I'm pretty sure that I didn't. I don't think I've ever enjoyed shopping."

I smiled. Somehow I'd sort of expected it. "Well then you have one thing to be grateful for being a newborn. It means Alice can't drag you off to a shopping strip or a mall and put you through shopping hell."

She looked confused so I elaborated.

"Being a newborn, it's too great a risk to expose you to any humans, let along the sort of concentrated groups of them you get in places like shopping malls. If it weren't for that fact, Alice would surely drag you off every chance she got. She's always desperate for a shopping companion. Even Rosalie gets tired of it."

"I take it that Alice enjoys shopping?" She asked, smiling.

I nodded emphatically. "Yes."

She giggled and the sound was so wonderful my smile widened exponentially.

–

Six hours passed before I received the next phone call from Carlisle. Bella and I had ended up in the family room by this time and had just finished watching 'Benny and Joon' – a movie I hadn't even realized we owned.

He informed us that they had left SeaTac about 30 minutes prior and should be home within the hour. I felt Bella tense beside me and silently questioned her with my eyes. She shook her head and tried to play it off as nothing, smiling shyly.

We kept the call brief and I hung up, returning the phone to my pocket.

"Bella, is something wrong?" I asked, concern lacing my voice.

She shrugged, but wouldn't look me in the eyes. "I don't know... I guess part of me is afraid none of them will like me."

"Don't be silly. What's not to like?" I asked, trying to reassure her.

"What _is_ there to like? _I_ don't even know me."

"It's completely irrelevant that you can't remember much from your human life. I don't know anything about your life in Arizona, or the details that brought you to Forks, but that hasn't stopped me from discovering a lot of other things about you. We aren't just defined by what we've done in the past.

"You're a wonderful, sweet, intelligent, and selfless person, and that shines through, memories or not. They'll love you Bella. Please don't let silly concerns like that worry you."

She sighed and hesitantly met my eyes before grinning and letting her head fall back onto my shoulder. "Thank you." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around my forearm and pulled herself closer to me, sighing with relief at the close contact.

"For what?"

"For everything."

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –


	5. Chapter 4

_Humble Me Chapter 4_

_Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer -don't own a thing. Written under derivative fan works act. All rights go to original Twilight author, Stephanie Meyer._

_AN: Ummm... not really sure what to say here. I've got a poll on my author profile page._

_Also, check out my blog (linked to on my profile page) for my "started but abandoned" stories._

_**The above were the words of the wonderful Mrs. Athey, who, even though she didn't have to, let me adopt this story.**_

_**Like Athey, I have a poll on my profile page. Only mine is different and refers to Twilight Diaries, so, go vote there!**_

_**(This following chapter is her original chapter. Unedited by moi. Enjoy!)**_

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I heard their thoughts shortly before I heard the cars. They were about two miles away. They'd taken Carlisle's BMW and my Volvo, since they were the two cars with the most trunk space, and it was a given that they'd be bringing back even more luggage then they left with.

I hadn't exactly enjoyed the idea of my car spending two weeks in an airport long-term parking lot, but it had meant that if, for some odd reason, I had needed to drive somewhere while they were gone, that I'd have an excuse to bring out my Aston Martin.

Of course that hadn't happened.

The first week I'd stuck primarily to the house, except for when I went on search patrols with the wolves, and this last week had been spent always by Bella's side.

"Bella, they'll be here in a minute." I said, turning to her, beside me on the couch. She stiffened and slowly stood up, wringing her hands together nervously and I followed, standing beside her and resting my hand in the small of her back, trying to be reassuring.

I was amazed at how many human mannerisms she had maintained. Especially considering her inability to properly recall her human memories. One of the most common tell-tale signs of a newborn is the inhuman stillness that came naturally to our kind.

And yet, here she was. Fidgeting and nervously shifting from one foot to the next. She was even chewing on her bottom lip. I chuckled watching her and her eyes shot to my face, surprised and self conscious.

"What?"

"Nothing... it's just – watching you is fascinating."

"Huh? Am I doing something wrong?" Her face looked worried and she looked herself over, trying to figure out what I had been observing.

"No, not at all. In fact, if you keep up all these little mannerisms of yours, you'd probably fit in better among humans that my siblings and I usually do."

"Mannerisms?" She looked at me with blank confusion.

I opened my mouth to explain but at that moment I heard the two cars pull in front of the house and come to a soft stop. They would probably bring in the luggage and then move the cars to the garage afterwards. I could also tell from Alice's excited mental gibberish that she was too impatient and excited to finally meet Bella to bother with properly parking my Volvo.

Jasper was busy getting a taste of the emotional atmosphere in the house, in preparation for the family coming in. He was remembering his experiences with young vampires during the wars and was edgy and apprehensive about the idea of suddenly having a newborn in the house.

Alice had apparently told him that Bella would surprise him, but he was still highly doubtful that we could honestly keep a newborn so close to Forks and not have any 'accidents'. He worried about how any such accidents would effect our relationship with the wolves.

Esme's mind was already bustling with ideas for Bella's room and wanted to use the redecoration of it as a way to get to known her new daughter. I smiled at that. She hadn't even met Bella yet and she was already thinking of Bella as a part of the family.

But so was I.

There was no doubt that I'd begun to think of Bella as a part of my family. She'd only been in my life for a few days now, but it was already impossible to imagine it without her.

Emmett was excited with the prospect of having a newborn in the house, simply for the potential challenge. Depending on how you look at it, Emmett was the 'youngest' member of our family. He'd been the most recent of us to be changed, and he'd never personally witnessed a vampire transformation – he'd only experienced his own. We hadn't been around any newborns at all since him, so aside from his own experience _as one_, he'd never met one. He remembered how much stronger he was during his first year and was excited and curious to see how his current level of strength would stack up next to that of a fresh young vampire.

This made me a tad nervous. I was a little worried that Bella would be a bit intimidated by Emmett in the beginning; although I'm sure that she'll come to love him. As annoying as my brother could be, he was basically a big teddy bear when it came to the girls. A really _big_ teddy bear.

Rosalie's reaction was what I was honestly most nervous about. I didn't want Bella to feel any additional reasons to feel bad about the situation she'd been thrown into, and if anyone in the family was likely to do that, it was my sister Rosalie. My biggest fear the past couple days was based on the fact that Rosalie was self-centered enough to focus only on the possible inconvenience that this would cause our family, without considering Bella's feelings.

So far I was only getting a little of that from her. She was definitely wary. She was remembering how difficult Emmett had been in the beginning. She'd loved him, even from the start, so she'd had a higher tolerance for his mood swings and theatrics. She wasn't sure how long her patience could put up with a temperamental moody newborn if she had no emotional attachment to her.

It only served to remind me how grateful I was that Bella had, as yet, not displayed any of the usual erratic and violent mood swings that I'd seen time and time before with each of my family member's various newborn years.

I did wonder, however, if this was just the calm before the storm.

My thoughts were interrupted as the front door flew open and Alice bounded in, pulling a hesitant Jasper behind her. He was thinking about how rushing in like this was a bad idea since it would likely startle Bella and he worried what that would do to her mood.

His concerns were obviously not unfounded because I felt Bella gasp, jump, and cling tightly to my side almost immediately as the two exploded into the room.

"Alice, _please _try to calm down a little." I heard Jasper pleading to his wife, but she was far to ecstatic to listen to, or care, about his concerns.

Alice let go of his hand and flitted across the room to stand a few feet in front of where I stood, with Bella huddled slightly behind and to the side of me, her arms tightly wrapped around my arm. Alice finally stood still for a moment, and smiled wide and warm at Bella, radiating with her standard gleeful exuberance.

I was glad she didn't immediately rush over and try to hug Bella, which was Alice's standard greeting. But then again, it would be difficult to hug Bella with the way she was so tightly attached to my side at the moment.

The others entered the main room now, joining Jasper, standing about 8 feet from us, all staring and waiting anxiously.

"Hello Bella!" Alice said, beaming. "I'm Alice."

"Um... Hi." Bella's voice came out small and timid, but she managed to straighten up a little – although she didn't still didn't release my arm from her death grip.

"I've been _so excited_ to finally meet you!" Alice squealed, bouncing slightly in place. "I _hated _that we couldn't be here for you during your change, but from what I saw, it was probably just as well. Edward has taken such good care of you." She smiled and her eyes twinkled as she glanced knowingly at me.

"Oh... um...It's okay. And yes, he has. He's been wonderful." Bella said, practically whispering the last part and looking at the floor.

I wondered if she had always been this shy as a human or if it was just being amplified by how overwhelming everything had been the last few days. I imagine having absolutely no clear memories of who you were would probably make it even worse...

Alice turned and grabbed Jasper's hand, pulling him closer. "This is my husband Jasper." Alice said, grinning as she turned back to Bella.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella." Jasper said in his smoothest southern drawl as he nodded his head to Bella.

"Nice to meet you." Bella murmured, looking up at him and smiling softly in response.

Carlisle and Esme stepped forward next and Alice and Jasper pulled back a little to make room for them.

"Bella," I began, speaking softly, "This is Carlisle and Esme." I motioned to each as I introduced them.

"Bella," my mother beamed and stepped forward calmly, opening her arms slightly, offering a hug. Bella looked up at me hesitantly and I nodded and smiled reassuringly.

Tentatively, Bella released my arm and took a step forward and Esme pulled her into a warm hug before pulling back and smiling widely. Alice jumped forward then, and wrapped her arms around Bella in an enthusiastic embrace that involved a bit of bouncing up and down.

Bella looked startled, but smiled none-the-less.

"Oh Bella, I'm _so _looking forward to getting to know you." Esme continued before stepping back beside Carlisle.

"Thank you... that's very kind of you." Bella said, stepping back and quickly grabbing my hand, lacing her fingers with my own.

Jasper watched our hands and eyed me curiously, cocking an eyebrow and grinning slightly. _Interesting..._ He thought and I looked at him confused.

Carlisle stepped forward then and grinned softly down at Bella. "Hello dear. I'm so glad that Edward was there to find you and has been able to be there for you during this most difficult time." He paused and looked around the room at the group behind him.

"I want you to know that we are _all_ here for you now. We will aid you in any way that you need us. We are a family, and now, and for as long as you so desire it, you are a part of this family too. We've all had to go through this time and we each have our own experiences and advice. I want you to feel like you can come to any one of us, with whatever questions or needs you have, any time that you have them. This is your home now too, and I want you to feel as warm and comfortable here as the rest of us."

Bella stared at him, her lips slightly parted and her expression somewhat awe-stricken.

"Uh... thank you." She said, finally.

Carlisle smiled and chuckled lightly, stepping back and wrapping his arm around Esme's waist.

Emmett and Rosalie stepped forward. Rosalie's thoughts were slightly wary, but at least she wasn't showing it on her face. I was grateful for that. Emmett was beaming. I silently pleaded with him, not to overwhelm her, with my eyes. He eyed the two of us curiously for a moment and his thoughts seemed especially curious about how close I was letting Bella get to me.

"Bella," I began, "This is Rosalie, and Emmett." I motioned to each of them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." Bella said, her voice still quiet, but she smiled to both of them with little hesitation.

_She's already feeling more comfortable. She doesn't feel nearly as overwhelmed now._ Jaspers thoughts came to me and I smiled at him, thankful.

It was interesting to know that Jasper was still able to get a read on her emotions without any trouble, and yet I was still completely unable to sense her thoughts.

Emmett took a step forward then and grinned down at Bella. Her eyes widened as she took in his massive form, but her tension seemed to lighten when she saw his warm smile and deep dimples.

"Hey new-little-sis. Welcome to the family." He said, beaming at her as he reached out pulling her into his side a little. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, gave her a light squeeze and chuckled before pulling back and returning to Rosalie's side.

Rosalie smiled softly at her husband before turning her gaze back to Bella. "Yes, Bella. Welcome to the family." She paused for a moment, mentally planning her next words. "None of us chose this life, but that doesn't mean that we have to let it define us or suffer though it. Having family by our sides to lean on and help and share the experience really makes a world of difference."

I felt myself soften at her words. I was honestly grateful to Rosalie for her kind words to Bella. Rosalie was worried about what all of this would mean for us, but she wasn't going to be cruel about it. I was thankful.

"Thank you all... _so_ much." Bella spoke, her voice quiet and slightly broken. It sounded like she would cry, if only she could.

I looked down at her and rubbed my free hand along her shoulder. "Are you okay?" I whispered, though we both knew that everyone could hear it.

She nodded and looked up at me with a soft smile. Her lower lip trembled for a second, but the smile was genuine.

_She's overwhelmed, but she's happy too. She's legitimately thankful. Especially to you..._ Jasper thought to me. I glanced his way and nodded lightly in thanks, acknowledging his thoughts.

A moment of silence passed and I could tell that Bella was becoming rather uncomfortable with the awkward situation. Carlisle sensed it too.

"Well, how about we unload the cars and get settled from our trip. I know, I for one, am rather travel weary. Bella, would you like us to gather afterwards, here in the den? Perhaps you could use the time to ask us any questions you may have? Not necessarily just about vampires, but about _us_. We're all willing to answer any questions you might have, and it'll give us all an opportunity to get to know each other."

"Um... alright." She said, in a tiny voice.

"Okay." Carlisle said gently with a soft smile. "Sounds like a plan. It should only take a few minutes for everyone to get their things unloaded."

She nodded and I turned to face her. "Do you want to sit with me on the couch and wait for them to gather?"

She nodded sheepishly and I grinned in response before leading her back over to the couch where we'd spent much of our time earlier this afternoon.

I sat down first and she plopped down beside me. Everyone else dispersed from the room quickly to get their things put away and once the room was empty she heaved a heavy sigh and let her body collapse against my side. Her head fell heavily against my shoulder and she turned her body slightly towards me, nuzzling her face into me.

"How are you holding up?" I asked quietly.

"I'm okay... it's just a lot... you know?"

I nodded silently and smiled as her arms snaked around my bicep, holding my arm against her chest and leaning her body into mine more.

I knew she wasn't yet accustomed to her newborn strength, and more then a few times during the past ten minutes, she'd managed to grip tightly enough to my arm or hand that it was literally painful, but I'd held in my winces. I didn't want to give her anything else to worry or feel guilty about.

The pressure on my arm at this moment, was thankfully, not, painful. In fact it was actually quite comforting. I was really becoming very accustomed to having her near me and always maintaining some form of physical contact.

I knew it was helping her. It was soothing to her. I was sort of acting as her security blanket, and oddly enough, I didn't mind in the least.

My mind wandered for a moment and I caught myself thinking of my arm as Linus's blue blanket from the old Peanuts strips. I chuckled.

She looked at me curiously for a moment before asking. "What?"

I shook my head, grinning. "Nothing."

–

It took quite a bit of coaxing to finally get Bella to start asking the others questions. It eventually came down to everyone telling their own transformation story to her. Each giving a brief personal overview of what their newborn experience was like.

The most uncomfortable moment when Emmett tried asking Bella a little about her human life – which only served to remind her that she really didn't remember much of any of it. Alice quickly came into the conversation then, trying to reassure Bella with information of her own blank human history. How she'd come to cope with the total and complete lack of information.

Rosalie offered to spend some time with Bella and a laptop to see if they could dig up any information on her that way, and Alice offered to break into chief Swan's house and collect a few of Bella's belongings for her.

"Obviously, I can't take too much, or else he might notice that things are missing. But I can try and collect any objects that look like they could be important or valuable." Alice said.

"But what if he catches you?" Bella said, clearly worried that Alice could get in some form of trouble at her expense.

"Oh, don't be silly, Bella. That's not even a possibility." Alice grinned slyly. "He won't even know I was there."

We'd been sitting and talking for nearly two hours. Esme had told Bella about her interior decorating hobby and had begun talking about how excited she was to help Bella decorate her room. She mentioned that she wanted to get Bella to sit down with her and some catalogs and sample booklets and get her opinion on some furniture, when Alice broke in and pointed how her eagerness to get Bella a new wardrobe.

Bella's posture was tense and I could tell she was feeling guilty again, with the idea of having the family spend money on her. I lazily brushed my fingers through her hair and she relaxed into my gentle ministrations and sighed heavily, resting her head on my shoulder again.

Esme and Alice were going on, enthusiastically, not paying a lot of attention to anything else in the world and I saw Bella smile softly and turn her head to look at me.

"You meant it when you said they love to shop." She whispered quietly to me.

I chuckled. "Yes, I did."

"Will it really make them happy, to spend money on me?"

I nodded. 'Yes. It will make them very happy."

She sighed. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do to stop them..."

I laughed lightly. 'No. There really is nothing you can do at all."

She smiled and returned her attention to my mother and sister as they eagerly discussed the renovations to the room, closet, and attached bathroom.

I let my mind wander lightly and caught sight of both Jasper and Carlisle eying me with interest.

Carlisle's mind was focused on his observations of Bella and my physical interactions. How close she was to me. How she had spent much of the last few hours clinging to my arm, leaning against my side, and holding my hand. But even more then that, his mind was pondering _my_ responses and _my_ actions.

For example, at that very moment, he was watching the way I was pulling my fingers through her hair... Which caused me to suddenly realized I was doing it. I hadn't even been aware of it before that moment.

I paused my hand and slowly retracted it. Puzzled at my own actions. I honestly hadn't even realized I was doing it. I suddenly felt rather self-conscious; worried that I could have been making her uncomfortable with my potentially unwelcome attention.

Jasper smirked and I shifted my attention back to him.

_Don't worry... she was really liking it. It was helping keep her calm._ He mentally spoke to me, still grinning.

I narrowed my eyes, focusing in on his mental ponderings. Thoughts weren't always as simple or direct as spoken words and Jasper, more so then most others, tended to think with his emotions. Emotions were just such a big part of his mental vocabulary, and as such, I had a harder time reading him then most.

_It reminds me of Esme..._ Carlisle's thoughts drifted to me and I shifted my focus back to him, questioning him silently with my eyes.

An series of images flashed through his mind of Esme during the first few weeks she had joined our family. I remembered many of them myself and it got me thinking.

Esme _had_ been rather attached to Carlisle from the start. She had been timid and in need of support and reassurance in much the same way that Bella was being now. I'd already begun noticing the similarities. But what surprised me about Carlisle's thoughts was that he was taking the connection even further.

Where I had made the comparison that both Esme and Bella had both shown a desperate need for contact and reassurance, Carlisle had taken it a step further, noting that Esme's attachment and reliance on him, had only been the first step in their romantic relationship; and was now wondering where _our_ relationship would go from here.

I cocked a single eyebrow at him and he simply grinned and shrugged.

Jasper chuckled at my confusion and I scowled at him.

"Oh Bela! I'm _so_ excited!" I heard Alice squeal as she clapped her hand enthusiastically and bouncing lightly in her seat beside Jasper, drawing my attention to her. "This is just _such_ an amazing opportunity!"

Bella looked at her with disbelief and confusion. "Opportunity?" She asked, her voice laced with doubt.

"Yes! I get to create a wardrobe for you from scratch! _Scratch!_ I'm just so thrilled." Alice beamed at Bella and I felt Bella begin to giggle lightly beside me.

I looked down at her and the soft genuine smile on her face warmed my dead heart. I leaned closer to her ear and breathed in her delicate scent. "Alice is crazy. You'll get used to it." I whispered before chuckling.

Bella looked up at me and hear eyes sparkled as she giggled again.

Alice gave me a playful scowl and stuck her tongue out at me childishly causing Bella to laugh louder.

My eyes traveled back down to Bella as I watched her shake with laughter beside me. Seeing the large smile across her face and the way it reached her eyes; the way they sparkled with enthusiasm and glee... I felt lightheaded.

I saw my own face through Jasper's thoughts, at that moment, and saw the radiant smile plastered on my face, as I looked down at Bella beside me. The look on my own face caught me off guard and I looked over at Jasper.

He merely smiled at me and chuckled again at my confusion, mentally refusing to explain it to me.

Stupid stubborn empath.


	6. Excuses

**So, this is a collective apology! For "To Know Him is to Love Him" and "Confessions of a Man". Also, "Open Pages", "Lost Get Found", "Twilight Diaries", "Humble Me", and, "Konoha Boarding School, Girls Allowed!**

**I know that I haven't updated some of these stories in a year or two, but, I'd like to apologize. I KNOW I haven't been active.**

**Why?**

**Well, because, I suck at up-dating. I really do, you don't have to deny it (Though I doubt anyone was going to.) I have a few excuses (School and Sickness being the few that would actually work), but, I want to let you guys know that now that Summer is here, I'm going to have way more time that I used to.**

**More time – Updated Stories.**

**Because I would LOVE to keep you guys updated with the stories, so, just scroll down to the story you care about, and, let to explaining begin!**

To Know Him is to Love Him:** I'm writing a New Chapter of this story as we speak. I've never done a case-fic before, so, I'm terribly stuck in deciding what to do, and, I realize that I ended chapter five on the STUPIDEST note I could have ended it on, and, now, I'm trying to patch my story back together with dreams and wishes in Chapter Six.**

**See my dilemma? Don't worry, though, I'm sure I'll pull something out of my but. Until then, my apologies. And, the story should be up in an hour or two.**

Confessions of a Man: **Look, when I say I need help, I MEAN IT! I have NO IDEA where to take this story, seeing as how I'd like to make this as realistic as possible. And, I'm a woman. I know what I'd LIKE Derek to do, but, it's not something I don't think any man, thoughtful or not, would ever do. I'd love for him to propose by chapter two, but, that wouldn't make for a good story.**

**So, currently… I hate to say this, but, currently, I'm thinking of assigning people who WANT and WILL WORK ON the stories. I'd like to have all of the blogs (Elle, Reid, JJ, Prentiss, Hotch, and, Rossi) done by next year. I just don't see a way I can do any of the blogs belonging to the men.**

**So, if there is a man out there that would like to help me write these, or, someone that is willing to take a blog off of my hands, and work on it better than I've been doing it, please ASK ME FIRST, and, we will discuss it.**

Lost Get Found: **Oh, dear Sweetness. I can't even tell you what this story is about anymore. I'm getting bored with this story, so, anyone that wants it, please, mail me and let me know, so that I can direct others to where they need to go if they wish to read this story. Please, make sure you have all of the chapters, because, after the first request, the story will only be up a few weeks afterwards. Please credit me for the initial idea, though. I like love just as much as the next person.**

Twilight Diaries: **Here's the thing. I had an old Toshiba Lap-Top. With all of my stories and chapters saved. It crashed. I lost everything. **

Humble Me: **Same thing with Twilight Diaries. Only, this time it's a bit difference. Not only was the story adopted, but, I had the chapters saved on my computer, no back-up, unfortunately, and, I lost the chapters that she had already written. So, if anyone knows where I can get the rest of the chapters, that'd be great. If not, I just ask that you wait until I can come up with a chapter that can do Mrs. Athey justice.**

_**Well, those are the excuses/reasons. I hope you understand, and, please, post any comments, questions or concerns. **_

*muahmuah*

Shadoe Dysteria


	7. Chapter 5

"Well, lets just go up there and figure it out from there!." I heard Esme exclaim, bringing my attention back to the conversation Bella was having with my mother and sisters.

"Oh... well, I guess that's fine." Bella said, timidly.

"I'm going to go grab the clothes I got for you in Rio! I can put them in your closet while we're up there and we can plan the closet organizers better!" Alice squealed, jumping up from the couch and racing up the stairs.

Esme laughed and stood up, reaching her hand outwards, offering it to Bella.

Bella stared at it blankly for a second, hesitating before slowly reaching out and taking it. She stood and looked back at me, her eyes held something – and I wasn't quite sure what it was... Hesitation? Caution... longing?

I nodded up at her and tried to smile reassuringly at her, motioning for her to join them. She smiled at me and took a deep breath before turning back to Esme and smiling.

Rosalie joined them and they all headed up the stairs.

* * *

"Carlisle?" I asked as I stuck my head through the open doorway to his study.

"Yes Edward?"

I walked in, closing the door behind me and sat down in one of the plush leather seats opposite his work desk. I ran my fingers through my hair hesitantly, although I can't honestly say why. It wasn't nerves exactly...

"So... school starts back up in a week." I began.

He nodded. "Yes, it does."

"I'm not going."

"Oh?"

"There are a hundred different excuses we can come up with to give the school... I caught mono in Brazil and will be bed-ridden for two months so I figured I'd just test out of the rest of the year... Hell, we could easily say I just got fed up with Fork's inadequate education system and dropped out to get my GED... whatever." I ran my hand through my hair roughly.

"Alright Edward – I'm sure we can come up with something believable. Can I inquire as to the specific reason you don't want to go back to the school?" He looked at me and I could tell by his thoughts he already had a good idea what I was about to say; he just wanted me to say it.

"I... I just don't feel comfortable leaving Bella alone for that period of time."

"She wouldn't be alone... Esme would be here with her." Carlisle hedged. I knew he wasn't trying to argue against me, just prodding me to go further with my argument.

"Of course, but honestly, we both know it's unreasonable to leave Esme alone with a newborn; no matter how great Bella has done so far. It's just reckless to expect Esme to be able to handle her on her own, should something go wrong."

He smiled softly again and nodded while suppressing a chuckle. "You've really become quite attached to her, haven't you?"

"Bella?" I sat up straighter and I quickly checked the mental thoughts of the girls up in Bella's room. They seemed preoccupied and weren't obviously paying attention to my conversation with Carlisle... but of course, I couldn't hear Bella's thoughts, so I had no idea if she was listening or not...

"I... yes, I suppose so. She's... I don't know Carlisle. I just can't leave her alone. Not yet. I need to be here." I shifted in my seat and roughly ran my hand through my hair again.

He chuckled. _He chuckled!_ What is with everyone today?

His thoughts were vague and impressionistic – not verbalizing any words. They all knew it was harder for me to get a good read on them when they did this, and it was always frustrating. Too much interpretation needed to be done to make sense of these types of thoughts.

Despite all of this, it was still growing ever more obvious to me that both Carlisle and Jasper suspected I had romantic intensions towards Bella.

But I didn't... Not really. I just felt responsible for her – I _had _destroyed her sire, after all. It was my responsibility to make sure she learned her way around this new life... She _needed_ me. And I wanted to be here for her.

Besides, it would be reckless and irresponsible for me to expect something like that... something _romantic_, from her – no matter how I felt. She was so new to this life. So young - so lost and confused. The last thing she needed was to feel pressured into something like that so quickly. I just wanted her to be comfortable and feel accepted into our family.

_That was all...nothing more._

"That's fine with me, Edward." Carlisle said, grinning at me, bringing me back from my thoughts. "I'll call the school. You'll probably need to complete a GED test, just for appearances."

I rolled my eyes. _That_ certainly wasn't going to be a challenge.

"Also," Carlisle continued, "y_ou_ get to tell Alice. You'll be leaving her as the only junior in the family. I doubt she'll be thrilled with the idea of attending her senior year alone."

I shrugged. "It just gives her an excuse to drop out a year early and get a GED. Shortened high school by a year. She always hates going through the extra school year without Jasper there, anyway."

It wasn't like the town didn't already gossip about us. What do we care if we give them one more piece of information to chatter about. Besides, there was no guarantee that we'd even be able to stay in Forks much longer. It really depended on how well Bella did... Not to mention the risk of keeping her around when her Father lived here.

_Her father..._

I'd completely forgotten to keep tabs at all on any news regarding her disappearance. I hadn't even talked with Sam about it.

"Carlisle," I said, "on another topic, I've been so preoccupied these last few days with Bella that I haven't had the opportunity to pay attention to any local news at all. I don't know what may be going on with Chief Swan and Bella's disappearance."

"Ah. Yes, it would be a good idea for us to try and keep tabs on that. I'm planning on going into the hospital tonight to check on things and get my schedule for the next week. I'll see what information I can dig up while I'm there."

"Thank you."

**And, so, I'm back! Thanks to EnyaCullen4Ever for reminding me that this story existed! I know that's a bit silly, but, I've been so involved with Criminal Minds that I've forgotten anything else (**cough** Twilight and Harry Potter **cough**) existed. However, I will try and get right back on it!**

**THIS IS AN ORIGINAL CHAPTER FROM ATHEY, BY THE WAY.**


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